


Awakening

by Mikari



Series: Endless [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-07
Updated: 2014-05-07
Packaged: 2018-01-23 21:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 234,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1579607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mikari/pseuds/Mikari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This takes place a little over fifteen years after Don't Give Me Diamonds and focuses on the journey of Ash and Misty's daughter through Kanto. Jessie and James' son will be traveling too, along with a cast of peculiar characters. It's a whole new adventure about friends, life, Team Rocket, and learning to face the complexity of reality. Other characters include Domino's daughter, Surge's son, and an unusual virtual android.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ash and Misty's daughter, Jessie and James' son, a cast of peculiar characters and a whole new adventure about friends, life, Team Rocket, and learning to face the complexity of reality... Sequel to Don't Give Me Diamonds. Can be read as a stand alone.

Awakening

Prologue: A New Hope

The announcement came suddenly and without warning. One second Jonathan was watching TV with his loyal Eevee curled on his lap and his uncle Meowth beside him, and the next his mother was scooping him into her arms muttering excitedly about something or other and carrying him to his room. She went through the closet in a rush while calling out to his father to remember to bring the gifts. "Mommy?" The four year old looked at his mother with inquisitive eyes while she insisted in rushing him to wear a little suit that he did not remember wearing before.

"We need to hurry, honey," Jessie prompted, straitening her young son's tie. "The princess is on her way and we can't miss this event!" She took a step back and looked at her son, nodding in approval. "Go tell your dad not to forget to bring the gifts," she sent him on his way and went to change herself.

Jonathan took a moment to watch his uncle Meowth fussing for a while, then went to find his father. James was packing several gift wrapped boxes into the car, while Meowth fussed some more. "Mommy said not to forget the presents..."

"Don't worry, I already put them all in the car," James assured.

"You haven't changed yet?" Jessie came out of the house, looking as if she was attending a grand gala. She finished putting on a new pair of earrings and pulled out a lipstick from the small purse on her arm. "James, we're going to be late!"

"I was loading the presents into the car." He motioned to the trunk and back seat full of pink wrapped boxes.

"That's no excuse, go change, hurry!" Jessie pushed her husband towards the house hastily. "Meowth, did you set up the closed sign? Did you transfer all the Pokemon to Gary's lab temporarily? It won't do that the pokemon we're taking care of go hungry because we're not here to tend to them. The day care center would be ruined, we'll lose our cover here at Saffron, and the boss will fire us!"

"I already did all that." Between fussing and fussing some more, Meowth had accomplished his duties as planned.

"I'm ready," James hurried out of the house, still in the process of properly putting on his tie. It was Jessie's idea that they should dress up.

"Not yet," Jessie pulled his tie into place, almost choking him with the motion. "There, now let's go, I'm a faster driver, so I'm driving. We don't have much time to get to Viridian!"

James paled and, with a stream of incoherent babbles that could have been prayers of mercy, he deposited his sun into the backseat of the car and made sure to tightly fasten the seatbelt.

xoxox xox xoxox

During the course of the speedy drive, where in Jessie drove like a maniac, ignoring the Jennies that tried to make her stop, Jonathan had remembered when they got the pink boxes. They were girly gifts, all of them, nothing that particularly interested him, thus he was not tempted to try to unwrap any of them. They had dolls, bows, dresses and such things and there was a lot of pink.

The little boy also remembered something else. His parents had mentioned that the gifts were for a princess. At first Jonathan imagined a lady with a dress and tiara like the princesses in the story books. Then he learned that the princess was younger, and though he wasn't sure how young, he imagined a girl, in the same dress and tiara that characterized Clefairy tale princesses. "Daddy..."

"Yes," James was gripping the sides of his seat for dear life as he saw the scenery rapidly fly by and tried to ignore the police sirens.

"Are we really going to meet a princess?" Jonathan asked with curiosity. Normally, girls had cooties, but this girl was a princess. Surely her royalty would render her immune and make her pleasant company.

"Oh yes we are, she's your princess too, our families have always been close, for generations." It was only one generation in James' case and Johnny would be the second one, but in Jessie's case, her mother had been a Rocket before her, since the early years of the organization.

"Like knights?" Jonathan asked curiously. If his parents were knights, then did that make him one too? That sounded fun.

"Yeah, just like royal knights," James smiled despite the fear that crept over every inch of his body because of his wife's reckless driving.

Satisfied with his father's reply, Jonathan was quiet for a while, occupying himself in petting Eevee. The pokemon had been meant for him even before the boy was born, as the egg had hatched when Jessie was still expecting. The Eevee was the child of a Flareon that was initially trained by Ash, then given to Jessie after she had fallen in love with James' Growlithe.

"Uncle Meowth?" Jonathan finally spoke again.

Meowth ceased his mutterings of hope and nervousness and looked at the little boy. The child had his father's hair and his mother's eyes. "Yes, Johnny?"

"Do you think the princess will play with me?"

"Of course she will, later," Meowth replied with a smile.

'Later?' Jonathan mused. Did she have royal duties to tend to or something? Well of course, she was young, but she was still a princess.

xoxox xox xoxox

After the wild drive was over, Jessie finally parked at the Viridian City hospital. She had a parade of officer Jennies after her, but she didn't care. "I'm on official business for the Viridian City gym!" The redhead announced before one of the Jennies could even begin to express her disapproving accusations.

The officer glared. The Rocket mafia had grown stronger in the past few years and there was little the police could do without risking a terrible retaliation, especially in the heart of their territory.

Ignoring the Jennies, Jessie and James grabbed the multitude of boxes and, with Meowth and Johnny following, they headed inside the hospital. After showing some ID they were allowed into the top floor where right there in the hall way a Rocket executive meeting was taking place. They had to pause and stare.

"And that's why we should sell these fine products!" Petrel finished, holding up a t-shirt with a picture of the Viridian Gym's badge.

"I'll consider it," Giovanni voiced. Delia, who was next to him, had a death grip on his arm, as if he would run off the second she let go of him. He paused to look at her, "you're cutting my circulation."

Delia only held on tighter in response, "deal with it," she smiled sweetly. "I want to be here and I want you to be here with me. The baby could be born any second!"

"That's what you've been saying for the past hour," Giovanni reminded.

Yet Delia didn't want him to leave, she wouldn't let go of him. "Well it's still true."

"What's our next topic?" Giovanni prompted, giving up on reasoning with Delia when she was in such a state.

"The new pokeballs under development," Ariana flipped through her agenda, while Archer looked at something on his laptop and Proton took a moment to stretch and yawn.

Before the conversation could continue, Ash, who had been staring at the sound proof door behind which Misty was, gasped as if the mere action of yelping in pain was too much to manage. With his face contorted in pure agony, he promptly fainted. Delia finally released her grip on Giovanni's arm to catch Ash's head before it hit the floor. "Ash!"

Giovanni flexed his arm in relief, good to see that it still worked despite the numbness. "I may not be an expert in aura, but I told him it was a bad idea to focus his senses so much on the energy of a woman in labor."

"Oh, he was just worried and wanted to check on Misty's life force," Delia insisted. "Ash, honey? He's out cold."

"Pikapi!" Pikachu volunteered to remedy the situation with a jolt of electricity to his trainer, the sparks of which reached all those present, though none nearly as harshly as Ash.

"Is it over?" Ash asked in a daze when he awoke.

"Not yet..." Delia smiled gently.

"But it's been hours..." Ash frowned.

"Some births take more time than others, I'm sure everything is fine," Delia assured. It wasn't long after that when the news came that the little girl had been born.

xoxox xox xoxox

Naturally, Misty was exhausted, but very relieved as she held the little pink bundle in her arms. She had red hair like her mother and eyes that were a mirror image of her father's with a fiery determination on them already visible from the start. People crowded around the baby, talking to the parents, cooing at the child and giving out their congratulations. There were many pokemon there as well, including a baby Meowth, the child of Giovanni's Persian, who was, as always, by his side, and a newborn Pichu, the child of Ash's Pikachu.

Through the array of people and pokemon, that continued to arrive, Jonathan curiously peeked up to see what the fuss was about. That was the princess? She was still a baby! No wonder Meowth said she would play with him later, she couldn't really walk, or even talk at the moment, very much less have a pokemon battle. But she still had her own pokemon, just as he remembered having Eevee for his whole life.

Misty extended one hand to the little boy beckoning him to sit on the bed next to her, cradling the child on her other arm and simultaneously holding a conversation with all of her sisters at the same time, while miraculously not being rendered terribly dizzy by the multitude of voices around her. The bed was a little crowded now with children and pokemon and there were people all around her, squealing with joy and congratulating the new parents, but Misty seemed to be protected by a force field of joy that made it so that not even the continuous high pitched squeals of her sisters could bother her at the moment.

Jonathan stared at the baby's face with curiosity and a barely audible, "princess?"

She giggled and reached out to him.

Though his hand was small, the tiny newborn could barely grasp his finger on her little hand. "Nice to meet you, princess. I'll be your knight, so just tell me if you need anything, okay?"

Though she probably had no idea what he was talking about, she smiled and held his hand a little tighter. 

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Chapter 1: A Good Start? 

"You know, if you had just waited, maybe professor Oak would have given you a pokemon." The innocent suggestion was met with a glare, to which the fifteen year old boy at the wheel replied with a quick defense of: "just saying." He referred to the younger Oak, who had taken over his retired grandfather's job several years ago.

The passenger next to him let out a breath. "Like my father, I was born in May, and pokemon journeys officially start in April first. I was born on the first of May rather than the tenth, so my frustration was nine days greater. I had to wait a whole year to play by the rules and now that I'm a month away from eleven I'm finally on my journey. After all that, do you want me to wait more? Of all the days to oversleep, uncle Gary had to pick today, well he can keep his pokemon, I already have one!" She pointed at the Pichu resting on her lap. Though Gary wasn't her biological uncle, he was her father's childhood friend, which made him kind of like an uncle.

After the girl finished her rant, silence reigned over the blue convertible. The boy considered saying that if she had to wait almost a year, waiting a few hours shouldn't matter, but instead he pointed out something else. "Since when do you care about the rules? What about Rocket pride?"

"I'm a Rocket," the girl assured. She ran her fingers through her red hair, brown eyes focused ahead. They were almost to Viridian City. "But just this once I want to do this alone."

Alone meant without help rather than completely alone, the boy assumed. He grinned, the wind going through his blue-purple hair. He knew she was about to continue.

"As the daughter of a champion pokemon master," Ash, "and a respected gym leader," Misty, "granddaughter of another respected gym leader, who is not so secretly the leader of Team Rocket," Giovanni, "there are many expectations from me. Not only that, but also advantages, if I allow it, but this is different. I know dad and grandpa have their differences about Team Rocket, their disagreements, but what I do is something I'll have to decide for myself. Besides, I think I can be both a Rocket and a pokemon master, I'll figure out the balance as I go along. For now I'll take the test and I'll become a pokemon master fair and square! I am a Rocket, but I won't have any advantages because of that while on this journey!"

"It won't be that hard," Jonathan grinned. His blue eyes focused on her for a second, taking in her expression before looking back at the road. "Everyone in the upper ranks of Team Rocket knows you, but the grunts and the general public not so much. They're not going to pull any punches if you become their target. And I don't think they'll give me any special consideration either, even if they recognize me."

"But Johnny, you're not just a grunt," Ashimi reminded.

"That's the point, Ashy," Jonathan pointed out. "I'm a rival." Ashy was something that only he called her.

Her real name was Ashley, her father had not been happy with it. Unknown to the young aspiring pokemon master, it was the alias Ash took when various circumstances forced him to cross-dress, it didn't bring good memories. Yet Misty had become inexplicably fond of the name during a visit to Jessie and James during her pregnancy. It all started with some innocent joking about the anecdotes of their past, and before Ash knew what was happening, Misty was rubbing her belly and calling the baby Ashley. Misty had guessed from the start that it was a girl. Ash didn't mind either way, but at that moment he started wishing for a boy. Then he realized that Ashley was seen as a unisex name in some regions and his hopes of his child escaping it faded away. Because of her red hair and big brown eyes, her resemblance to her parents was obvious, along with her love for pokemon. Misty's sisters nicknamed her Ashimi, a combination of her parents' names. The name stuck to the point where few people even remembered that her official name was Ashley.

"We're here..." Jonathan announced as they drove closer to Viridian City.

The officer on duty, whose name, like her mother's and grandmother's, was Jenny, stopped them at the main street's entrance. Surely she knew Team Rocket controlled the city, the rumors had, over the years, evolved from hidden whispers to silent common knowledge. Nonetheless, she could at least try to do her job. She eyed the driver's youthful face suspiciously. "License," she spat sharply.

With a confident grin, Jonathan handed over his fake ID. It wasn't much of a significant difference, but it did make him a year older, sixteen, old enough to drive, though the car was suspiciously expensive looking. It was from Giovanni, when he found out Jonathan was to be Ashimi's driver. Maybe it was his way to say 'get the journey over with and join the family business,' though Ash never truly had. Of course, Jonathan still had his duties as a Rocket, but Ashimi had not really factored that in. She had simply accepted his offer to drive her because she'd probably have a hard time pretending to be sixteen, and she was anxious to quickly get to wherever her pokemon battles would be.

Finding no excuse to detain them any longer, Jenny allowed the young trainers passage. "Shall we head to the gym?" Jonathan inquired unsure.

"No way!" Ashimi immediately refused. "I can't face grandpa until I'm strong enough to face him in battle!" She drew in a breath after the outburst and continued, "just drive through to Pewter."

Jonathan considered questioning what was the point of starting at Pallet if she was too impatient to wait for Gary to hand out the starter pokemon and rode in a car the whole way instead of catching pokemon at the Viridian Forest and the surrounding areas. Yet he wisely decided not to ask and instead continued driving quietly.

"Stop!" If the driver had been anyone other than someone who knew Ashimi very well, he might have slammed on the breaks in a startle, but he didn't. It was a good thing too, because otherwise the car behind them would have left a screeching line of tire tracks that ended on the convertible's bumper, marring the perfect shiny indigo blue beauty.

Jonathan would have been angry, not that it was his car, it was technically Ashimi's but Giovanni didn't want her to drive it, not yet anyway. By the time she was sixteen, he hoped that she could somewhat control her need for speed, enough not to kill herself at least. "Restaurant?"

"Yes!" Ashimi exclaimed. "Sitting in a car makes me hungrier than I thought."

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, Giovanni was busily conducting secret Rocket business at his office in the Viridian City gym, until his focus was interrupted by a tail tickling his nose. He removed the daring Meowth that climbed on his head and set him on the floor. "Ashimi can't get here soon enough..." He grumbled. He had no intentions of letting her win, of course. He wanted her to get that journey done quickly, but even if she was his own granddaughter, his pride prevented him from doing anything other than winning. She would have to earn her earth badge.

Giovanni's long time companion, his loyal Persian, yawned and shifted on the couch. He looked at the female of his kind who was pacing the office. Her time as a Meowth had left her with many battle scars, but they disappeared after her evolution, all except for the oddity of the ruby on her forehead. The red gem protruded like a horn, a hideous deformity by the standards of most Persian, but a beautiful wonder in the eyes of a human. Giovanni's Persian had been with him long enough to acquire his taste for jewels, lucky for her. She was a rarity, like him. knowing about her crush on the boss's pokemon, her previous trainer, a Rocket hacker known as Pixel, gave her to him.

Purry, whom Giovanni lazily, yet with an almost fatherly affection simply referred to as 'girl' thus shared a life with the pokemon of her dreams. It wasn't long before Giovanni found an egg one morning nestled between his priced felines. The child didn't have the peculiar rare coloration of the father, but he certainly had the mischief of his younger days and he probably had it from both sides. Giovanni wasn't in the mood to put up with training the little pokemon and resolved to give him to Ashimi. With such strong parents, he had to become a very useful addition to her team.

xoxox xox xoxox

After a good meal, Ashimi and Jonathan continued out of Viridian City and towards Pewter City. With a sudden revelation, Ashimi looked at the Pichu on her lap. The pokemon was softly squeezing a bottle of ketchup and licking the red drops as they came out. "You're my only pokemon... I can't take on a gym with just one pokemon, what if they say two on two? I'm sure my Pichu can take them both on, but still. That's it, we're going to Mount Moon, step on it!"

"Gotcha," Jonathan smirked and sped up.

xoxox xox xoxox

After another stop at Pewter City they later arrived at Mount Moon. Jonathan parked the car near the entrance and brought up the roof. Ashimi's Pichu hopped on her head as usual. "Johnny..." She made an overly dramatic pause of determination. "I have to do this on my own."

"I understand, I have some stuff to do too. Maybe I can track down some moon stones to send to the boss," Jonathan mused. He knew he couldn't lower his guard with his Rocket duties or Giovanni would have something to say about it.

"Alright! I'll give you a call when I'm ready to head back to Pewter City." Thus the pair went their separate ways, taking opposite directions at a fork in the cave.

Soon, Ashimi could no longer hear Jonathan's fading footsteps. A soft screeching reached her ears and a Zubat perched on her shoulder. "Shoo!" She waved it away. "I want a Clefairy!" She didn't like Zubat, the creatures weren't exactly nice to her when she explored Mount Moon with her father a couple of years ago. She used her cellphone to light her way until the dim brightness of another source came into view. The light became brighter as she approached it, until she no longer needed her cellphone to see where she was going. Up ahead she spotted three Clefairy sitting around a fire. "I got you now... Ready Pichu? Lets get the jump on them, Thunderbolt!"

Pichu jumped off Ashimi's head and attacked the three Clefairy. The pink pokemon scrambled, tripping over each other and making matters worse for them. Pichu didn't even pause, he shot another burst of electric energy at the Clefairy, rendering the three young pokemon unconscious.

"Alright, well done, Pichu!" Ashimi paused in the motion of throwing a pokeball and gave it another thought. "They're too weak..."

"Clefable!" An angry voice called out. "Clefable!" another voice joined in. Those two where notably older than the three Clefairy and they looked a lot stronger, probably the parents. Soon, more voices joined in a chorus of "Clefairy!" and "Clefable!"

"Oh-oh..." Ashimi looked around with concern, but she refused to back down. "Thunderbolt!"

"Pi... chuuuuu!" Pichu attacked once more, again and again none stop. A flurry of echoed voices, double slaps and even hyper beams rained upon them. Pichu struggled to keep up, but he was severely outnumbered. A large Clefable jumped at Ashimi on the attack. Pichu jumped in front of her in a wild charge and took down the Clefable that tried to attack her.

The sound of an incoming text message on her cell phone woke Ashimi from her surprise at having become a target. She reacted by throwing a pokeball at the Clefable before it could fully recover. The ball absorbed the pink pokemon, shook, and with a red bean of light released the Clefable. Wasting no time, Ashimi delivered a swift kick to the pokemon as payback for the earlier attack, "you wanted a fight? You got it!" As the already weakened Clefable was knocked down again, she tried the pokeball once more. The ball shook, but successfully sealed the pokemon inside that time. Ashimi picked up the red and white capsule and turned her attention towards the Pichu. Despite his strength, he was far too outnumbered and couldn't go on any longer. "Pichu!" She dove into the fight to recover her companion and considered retreating, but the Clefairy and Clefable had her surrounded.

The same Zubat from earlier flew overhead, screeching loudly. He let out a series of super sonic waves, causing the Clefairy and Clefable to become confused. Several of the pink pokemon attacked each other in their confusion, creating an opening for Ashimi to escape with Pichu in her arms and Clefable in a pokeball. She ran through the dark tunnels of Mount Moon, instinctually following a light in the distance.

As Ashimi approached the light, she realized that its brightness didn't signify the exit of the cave, it was a blazing fire! In the middle of it she spotted a boy and a Flareon, both recognizable to her. "Johnny! What happened?"

"Ashy!" Jonathan looked at the fire around them and sheepishly place his hand behind his head. "I was collecting moon stones for the boss when a bunch of Clefairy and Clefable attacked. I know it's pillage, then burn, and I wasn't done pillaging, but I had to defend my moon stones, I mean the boss' moon stones. Although I think I might have overdone it with the fire."

"Nah, you think?" Ashimi replied sarcastically. Fortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of flammable material there and the Clefairy and Clefable managed to put the fire out with blizzard and ice beam attacks. Naturally, the pink pokemon were not happy with the human invaders and their pokemon companions. As soon as the fire was out, their attention turned towards them. To make matters worse, the group that had attacked Ashimi before caught up to her as well.

"Maybe we should call a retreat?" Jonathan suggested.

Though usually stubborn, Ashimi had already obtained what she came for and had no problems with the plan. She noticed the same Zubat had followed her and called out to him. "Zubat, use super sonic again!" As the Clefairy and Clafable were overtaken with confusion, Ashimi and Jonathan escaped along with their pokemon.

Once they were outside of Mount Moon, they noticed the sun had set. "I didn't get all the moon stones I wanted, but I did manage to get a few I can send to the boss. Overall, I think that went pretty well."

"Yeah, I did get a new pokemon. I caught a Clafable." Zubat landed on her shoulder wanting to follow her. "And a Zubat," she added. She held up a pokeball, easily catching the pokemon officially. "It's a bit late and I could use a meal. I'll head over to the Pewter City gym tomorrow. I'm sure you and Fluffy are tired too."

"Foxtrot!" He corrected. "You know it's Foxtrot!" Jonathan had heard the name being used as a call sign in a space ship battle movie years ago. He imagined it was based on some sort of super cool space ship battle move and decided to use it as a nickname for his pokemon. It had been a necessity at the time, when Foxtrot was still an Eevee with two other Eevee siblings. The oldest of Flare and Growly's children had been the one to officially become Jonathan's pokemon since the first day of his life, having been hatched months prior to his birth.

"Right, right," Ashimi laughed, as the pair got into the car.

"Should we check into a hotel?" Jonathan inquired, changing the subject.

"No, this will be a proper pokemon journey, so we'll stay at pokemon centers instead," Ashimi decided.

xoxox xox xoxox

Jonathan and Ashimi arrived at Pewter City. Johnny dropped off the moon stones at the local Rocket base and sent in a report about it by email. Then they headed to the pokemon center. They handed their pokemon over to nurse Joy, daughter of the previous nurse Joy who worked there, and settled into a guest room. Soon, their pokemon were returned refreshed and the group was ready to eat.

"Okay, time to have our first meal together with our new friends!" Ashimi released Zubat and Clefable from their pokeballs. Pichu was usually out and Jonathan had called out his Flareon as well. Zubat was well behaved and already making friends with the other pokemon, but Clefable was looking grumpy. This particular Clefable was rather young, probably recently evolved. "C'mon Clefable, don't be such a grouch!"

Clefable fixed her trainer with a deadly glared and quickly slapped her. "Fable..." She growled.

That was it, Ashimi's temper was officially overloaded, "how dare you! You ungrateful little..." A fight broke loose between the pokemon and the trainer. Pichu tried to intervene with a burst of electricity that filled the entire room with a thunderbolt attack. This caused the combatants and spectators to fall to the floor twitching. Pichu wasn't spared, as Zubat fell on his head when he was knocked out of the air. They got little rest that night.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 2: Strength vs. Speed 

The next day, Ashimi and Jonathan headed to the Pewter City gym so she could battle for a boulder badge. "I could really use a water type right now, but that's okay, I'm sure I can still win." She confidently strode in.

The Pewter City gym was filled with unusual sounds that were rather chaotic in nature. Ashimi was greeted by her aunt Lilly, who rushed towards her in a panic. "Ashimi, you like have to help us!" She exclaimed, hyperventilation settling in. "Please, like talk to your grandfather, whatever we did to like make him this mad, we're totally sorry! Just please get him to call back that beast like before the entire gym is destroyed!"

Brock arrived at the arena area as well, looking scratched all over. "I'm sorry, I couldn't catch it!"

Ashimi stared at her aunt and uncle in confusion. She looked at Jonathan in question, but he could only shake his head to indicate he didn't know what was going on. "Now that I think about it, I kind of remember getting a text message, but I was busy at the time and didn't see what it was. Maybe it's from grandpa."

She checked her cellphone and did indeed find a text from Giovanni. 'I heard you were seen heading towards Pewter City. Leaving the Viridian gym for last? A wise choice. I sent the early birthday gift I was going to give you to the Pewter gym, you can pick it up there.'

"Grandpa had a birthday present for me early? Now I wish I had stopped at the Viridian gym, even if it wasn't to battle. I wonder what the present is!" Ashimi exclaimed in excitement.

"Present?" Lilly blinked in confusion.

"The only thing we received from Giovanni was..." Brock's explanation was cut off by a Meowth rushing over.

"Furball!" Ashimi extended her arms and the Meowth jumped into them. His nickname had come from Giovanni, who referred to his Persian's child as 'that annoying little furball.' "You're my present? This is awesome!"

"You'll like take that beast away?" Lilly hoped, "that would be like a big relief!"

"Where did he go? I almost had him!" A boy with squinty eyes like Brock and pink hair like Lilly, ran over to them. "Ashimi? That pokemon is yours?"

"That's right, and I'm here to battle for a badge," she replied proudly.

"As long as the beast is like gone, you can have the badge," Lilly decided. "That creature tried to like eat the rare Goldeen Brock bred for me! It's a really cute Goldeen too, like white and yellow instead of white and orange."

Brand's eyes went wide and he protested. "But mom, we should battle trainers!"

"Right... Battle..." Brock was visibly dizzy with exhaustion and his scratches looked like they stung.

"Your father can like barely stand and it wouldn't like fit to give away a boulder badge in a water pokemon battle," Lilly explained.

Brand frowned, then got an idea that made his face light up. "I can battle!" He volunteered.

"Alright, you're on!" Ashimi agreed. "This will be easy," she didn't even try to hide her overflowing confidence. They had battled before and Pichu had won with ease.

"I'll give you a real challenge, you won't beat me this time, Ashimi!" Brand assured. "Two on two, you must have already caught another pokemon, right?"

"Of course I caught another pokemon and not just one!" Ashimi proudly declared.

'Two is more than one, but didn't Zubat follow her willingly and let himself be caught? Plus Clefable is more likely to attack her trainer than her opponent...' Albeit such thoughts crossed Jonathan's mind, he wisely kept them to himself.

The two trainers took their positions on opposite sides of the rocky gym arena. "This is an official pokemon battle for a boulder badge," Brock tiredly refereed. "Each trainer can use two pokemon, no time limit!"

"I think I'll get things started with Furball, that should give him a good welcome to the team." The Meowth jumped into the arena, ready for battle.

"Go Geodude!" A small Geodude emerged from Brand's pokeball.

Ashimi had a pokedex app on her phone, but she had already scanned that pokemon into her list of seen pokemon before, in fact, she had seen most of Kanto and Johto's pokemon during her travels with her parents. Without giving her cousin time to react, she directed Furball to go on the attack, "water pulse!"

The attack was super effective, knocking out the young Geodude before he could make a single move. "He knows water attacks?" Brand gaped as he recalled his knocked out Geodude.

"I happen to know his mom's a bit battle obsessed, I figured she would know a variety of attacks from her days as a rowdy street pokemon and she would probably teach her son." Ashimi grinned proudly. With Furball and Pichu by her side, she felt unstoppable. "Tell you what, I'll call Furball back for now, c'mon little friend, hop into your new pokeball."

Brock seemed to wake from his sore drowsiness long enough to declare that the round went to Ashimi, not that they couldn't tell.

"Meowth!" The energetic feline jumped into the pokeball Ashimi held out.

"You hadn't even officially caught him, does that count?" Brand wondered aloud, a questioning look in his eyes that was almost hopeful.

"Of course it counts, he's my pokemon!" Ashimi defended. "Now stop being a sore loser and call out your next pokemon."

"Fine... Next I'll choose..." While the pink haired boy considered the matter, his opponent became even more confident.

'The last time we battled Brand only had a Geodude and a Goldeen. If this is supposed to be a rock type battle, I wonder what pokemon he'll use,' Ashimi curiously thought. "Get ready Pichu," she whispered to the yellow pokemon that was still on her head like a living cap.

"I choose Steelix!" Brand called out triumphantly.

"Steelix? That's uncle Brock's Steelix!" Ashimi explained in surprise.

Brock's jaw dropped at the sidelines. He let his son borrow the pokemon for training, but he wasn't expecting for the metal giant to actually be called out to battle. He wasn't even sure how to call this.

Stubborn as she was, Ashimi wasn't going to back down. "Fine, I accept your challenge. This is a gym battle, so I should be going up against a gym leader's pokemon!"

"Wow..." Lilly let out a breath. She gave her husband a pointed look and cleared her throat. "I wonder if it's like okay for young children to battle with pokemon that are like so fierce," she pouted.

"It's okay, honey," Brock assured. "Steelix is gentler than your Gyarados and you let Brand play with her all the time."

Lilly placed her hands on her hips in indignation. "No comparison," she exclaimed. With a starry eyed expression she continued. "My sweet Andraia is like such a gentle creature, the darling is just a big baby." Lilly had raised the pokemon since she was a Magikarp and never really stopped viewing her as such.

While the couple's exchange went on, so did the battle. Ashimi had tried to call Pichu to the fight, but the summoning didn't go as expected. "I choose..." Zubat popped out of his pokeball uncalled. "Zubat?"

"Do you really expect to beat Steelix with a Zubat? No way!" Brand exclaimed.

"I wasn't... I didn't..." Ashimi stumbled over her words, unsure of how to fix this mess.

"C'mon princess, you can do it!" Jonathan cheered.

"That's right, I'm a Rocket princess and I can win any battle!" Ashimi roared. 'I may be taking on this journey without assistance from Team Rocket, I'll just think of Furball as a gift from grandpa rather than the Rocket boss. But I'm still both a Rocket and a future pokemon master, I can do this...'

"Steelix, tackle!" Brand commanded. The massive metal serpent started smashing everything, trying to hit the swift Zubat.

"Keep dodging, Zubat!" Ashimi looked at the battle intensely, trying to come up with a strategy. 'I can't sent Zubat out in a physical attack on that armored giant, he'll probably end up getting hurt instead of Steelix.' "Use super sonic and don't stop moving!"

"Your Zubat can't beat Steelix!" Brand was feeling confident about winning the battle to defend his family's gym. Yet that Zubat was so slippery. "Keep going, Steelix, I'm sure he'll be knocked out right away if you just hit him once!"

Ashimi grinned as she guided her Zubat to dodge the incoming attacks. "Left, right, up, dive! That's it, you're doing great Zubat! Keep using super sonic!" Steelix was confused and trashing all over the place. 

"Oh no! The gym!" Lilly shrieked, clinging to Brock as the building shook and choking him in the process.

Jonathan perceived what was going on and smiled, "you got this..."

Ashimi saw a good opportunity for a grand finale and took it. "Now Zubat, fly straight up!"

Zubat swiftly obeyed as Steelix stretched out to follow. The metal serpent crashed into the ceiling hard enough to make a hole in it, Zubat dodging out of the way at the last minute. With a dizzy twitch, Steelix hung from the ceiling, his head outside and the rest of his long body at the arena. He got loose and fell down to the rocky terrain of the Pewter City gym arena, portions of the damage ceiling falling on his head for good measure.

"It's over..." Lilly nearly sobbed, releasing the frightened chokehold she had on Brock.

Brock took in a big breath and grimaced at the state of his gym. "Zubat wins this round," he sighed. "The winner is Ashimi..."

"I won!" Ashimi cheered. Her exhausted Zubat flew down into her arms to be squeezed in a bone crushing hug. "Well done Zubat, take a rest in your pokeball." She headed to the sidelines where she was congratulated and received her boulder badge.

"That was a pretty amazing battle," Brand admitted. "I really thought I was going to win, but you know what? When I beat you, I think I want it to be with my own pokemon."

Ashimi laughed in good humor. "Keep dreaming, kid." She ruffled her cousin's hair.

"You better watch out! In three years I'll go on my own journey, win lots of badges and give you a real fight at the Indigo Plateau!" Brand declared.

"You better be ready, because in three years I will have won the championship three times!" The cousins shared a laugh, promising to battle again sometime soon.

"How about you, Johnny? Want to give it a shot? My Goldeen versus your Flareon." Brand challenged the older boy. He had the type advantage, though Jonathan obviously had more experience.

Before the blue-violet haired teen could reply, Lilly interrupted. "Oh no! There will be like no battling around here until this gym is like fully presentable. Look at this mess, it's like terrible! What will the challengers think when they like see this? The Pewter City gym is officially like closed for repairs and you two are like on clean up duty!"

The father and son stood up straight with a start and saluted. "Yes ma'am!"

"Having some extra help like wouldn't hurt..." Lilly eyed Ashimi and Jonathan purposefully.

The traveling pair backed away. "It was nice seeing you all, I'll email from time to time, but I really got to go now. You know what they say, rare pokemon wait for no one!"

"See you later everyone, if Ashimi's leaving, I need to go too, since I'm her driver and all," Jonathan added.

With a chorus of "bye!" Ashimi and Jonathan made their escape and left Pewter City.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 3: Rocket Rival

Driving past Mount Moon, Ashimi and Jonathan made it to Cerulean City. Ashimi knew she would be facing her mother at the gym for a cascade badge eventually. They had battled for training before, but she knew this battle would be different and she really wanted her mother to give it her all. "The cascade badge will be the second to last before the earth badge."

"To Saffron City then, or do you want to stop at Cerulean even if you don't battle yet?" Jonathan asked.

"There was that upcoming cake shop, maybe it's open by now. Dad and I found it, but it wasn't ready for the public yet. I want to try the cakes are if it's open," Ashimi decided.

Jonathan liked the idea and it was clear to see on his face. "Which way is it?"

"A little out of the way," Ashimi admitted. "Take the backstreets behind the gym and make a... right, I think." They drove past the gym and towards the more solitary streets behind it. "Let's see... I think I recognize this, turn right again in the next one..." They drove a bit further until Ashimi pointed, "over there, make a left!"

The warning came late and Jonathan nearly missed the turn, but managed to make it at the last minute. "Where is it?"

"There!" Ashimi pointed at a tiny shop tugged away in an alley between two apartment buildings. It wasn't the fanciest part of town, but despite its shadowy surroundings, the shop had an inviting look to it.

"I wonder if they get any customers, you can barely see that little shop in the alley." Jonathan observed as they got out of the car and headed into the shop.

An old lady came from the back of the shop and stood behind the counter. Her white hair framed her face, covering a portion of it and her large round glasses obscured another portion. The woman stood silent, staring at the pair as if she'd seen a ghost.

Ashimi was already focused on the treats displayed behind glass, but Jonathan noticed something peculiar about the woman. The way her green eyes sparkled and how what little of her face wasn't covered looked surprisingly smooth, made him wonder if the woman was truly as old as her hair and attire portrayed her to be.

"That one!" Ashimi's sudden voice got them both out of their daze as she pointed at a chocolate cake with rainbow sprinkles.

The lady from the shop placed the cake in a box swiped Ashimi's card through the register and handed it back along with the box. "C'mon, let's go bug mom about making us burgers. I'm not going to battle her officially yet, but this cake deserves a good picnic to go with it!" She gave the quiet teenage next to her a nudge with her elbow. "Hey Johnny, what's gotten into you all of a sudden? We have an awesome cake and you're not even excited!"

"Oh, right, the cake!" Johnny threw the uncertainty to the back of his mind and smiled.

As they were getting back into the car, a girl came down the street waiving. "Johnny!" The girl caught up to the car and leaned over the driver's window, her nose almost touching Johnny's face.

"Dorme?" He wasn't sure what she was doing in the backstreets of Cerulean City.

The fourteen year old girl grinned. Her violet eyes sparkled with a challenge as she twirled a strand of her wavy pale blond hair on her finger. Unlike Johnny, who was in civilian clothes to blend in, she was still in her black Team Rocket uniform. "I'm so glad I ran into you. I was thinking I should try on a new bikini I just bought at the Cerulean City public pool. Why don't you come with me?" She batted her eye lashes in a flirty fashion.

Before Johnny could make himself reply, Ashimi pointedly interrupted. "We were going to get burgers from my mom."

"Oh right, the burgers," Jonathan recalled. "I'm sure the pool at the Cerulean gym is better anyway, and less crowded, maybe we can go for a swim there," he grinned somewhat sheepishly.

Dorme would prefer if they could go for a swim wherever Ashimi wasn't going to be, but she smiled and nodded anyway. "That's a great idea."

"I don't feel like swimming," Ashimi growled. She hated how Dorme was constantly trying to get rid of her.

"You don't?" Jonathan gave Ashimi an incredulous look and touched her forehead. "You don't have a fever, are you feeling sick?"

"I'm not sick, I just don't feel like being in a pool right now!" That was a lie, she loved swimming. "Never mind," Ashimi pouted, "lets just go to Saffron City."

"But what about the burgers?" Jonathan complained.

"They're not for her," Ashimi growled.

"Aw c'mon, I'm not going to steal your food. In fact, I'm sure I eat a lot less than you, Ashimi. I'm a lady, not a glutton." Dorme laughed obnoxiously.

"Are you calling me a glutton?" Ashimi yelled, exiting the car and walking over to stand in front of Dorme.

"Oh goodness no," Dorme feigned innocence. "I'm just pointing out that I'm not."

"Um, girls..." Jonathan tried to stop the upcoming war, but he was completely ignored.

"That's it!" Ashimi pointed at Dorme with an accusing and challenging tone. "I challenge you to a pokemon battle!"

"You're on!" Dorme accepted without hesitation. "Go Oddish!"

"Oddish! Oddish!" The little pokemon seemed rather energetic. She wore a golden circlet around her leaves, making the combination look like a crown. Yet oddly, the centerpiece of the circlet looked like a poor imitation rhinestone, which contrasted with the pretty circlet.

"This will be easy," Ashimi was itching to use a pokemon she had not battled with before and that affected her choice for the worse. "Clefable, I choose you!" Calling out the pink pokemon turned out to be a big mistake, as it only earned Ashimi a slap on the face.

"Ah! Ha ha ho ha ha!" Dorme laughed loudly while Johnny quietly cringed. "Looks like your pokemon doesn't like you very much!"

"Shut up!" Ashimi quickly recalled Clefable into her pokeball. "I'll deal with you later," she grumbled at the red and white capsule. Dorme wasn't done laughing and the sound was getting on Ashimi's nerves. "Pichu... Annihilate them! Thunder!"

Pichu jumped off Ashimi's head and went on the attack. "Chu!" The rush of electricity was massive!

"Watch it, Ashy, you're battling too close to the car!" Jonathan urged, but his pleas fell upon deaf ears. Without another second to waste, he quickly moved the car to the opposite side of the street and thought it best to witness the battle from there.

"Dodge it, Oddish, and use giga drain!" Dorme was unfazed by the electric attack and had a strategy of her own.

Pichu continued to attack while the slippery Oddish danced around him. Out of breath, the electric pokemon had to stop, swaying from side to side in a dizzy daze. "Pichu!"

The Oddish on the other hand was full of energy, still speedily jumping around with confidence. "You might as well give up now," Dorme gloated. "My pokemon is clearly stronger than yours!"

Ashimi glared in frustration. That Oddish was fast and the potency of her giga drain was something else. Though the electricity that did manage to reach Oddish wasn't enough to cause her any real pain, it did scratch the rhinestone on her circlet to reveal that it was a gray stone underneath. Why would anyone use that as the center piece of an otherwise well made circlet? Unless... "That's an everstone!"

"It is," Dorme grinned, "not that you figuring that out makes a difference for the battle!"

Dorme was clearly about to go on the attack, but Ashimi quickly interrupted before the blond could issue a command. "That circlet looks really tacky!"

"What?" Dorme growled. "It's useful! Besides, I plan to repaint the everstone with glitters and glue new rhinestones to it. When I'm done it will be beautiful!"

"Yeah well, you didn't do a very good job the first time!" Ashimi retorted. 'That's right, Dorme, get angry and keep arguing, that should give Pichu some time to catch his breath.'

"I don't see you trying to make any jewelry! Oh, that's right," Dorme mocked, "grandpa gives you all the jewelry you want. In fact, your family does everything for you because you're a sheltered spoiled brat who can't do anything for herself!"

"That's not true!" Ashimi felt her blood boil. She took a step forward and Dorme defiantly mirrored the action. The angry remarks and venomous retorts continued to be exchanged until the two girls were a mere foot away from each other.

"Girls! Girls!" Johnny rushed over across the street and tried to defuse the situation. "This is a pokemon battle, not a boxing match!" He tried to remind them.

"Mind your own business!" The two girls shouted in unison as they shoved him aside, causing him to fall down on the street.

"I'll show you!" Ashimi growled threateningly, "but first, I'll finish off your pokemon! You think you can trick people into lowering their guard with that everstone trick? It doesn't matter how much you've secretly trained that Oddish, my Pichu is special and has skills few pokemon have!"

"It certainly doesn't look it!" Dorme exclaimed.

"You'll see... Pichu, time to use your secret move!" Ashimi commanded. Pichu visibly stiffened and let out a whimper. "It's okay, you can do it. At this stage it should be just enough to knock him out." The electric pokemon nodded and got ready, focusing as much as he could.

"Whatever it is your going to do, it won't work. My Oddish will drain away all your Pichu's energy!" It looked like Dorme's confidence was unshakable. "Giga drain!"

"Hold back your energy, Pichu, don't let her take it, concentrate!" Ashimi guided. "Try to feel it, sense the flow of energy and let that be the path you follow, build up your power, make it as strong as you can!"

Dorme frowned as Pichu began to glow bright yellow. "Try harder, Oddish!" Judging by the sparks around Pichu, a physical attack would only result in electrocution, and projectiles could be deflected with that same electricity. Dorme concluded that her only choice was to drain away that little lightbulb of a Pichu and have all that power strengthen her Oddish. "Finish this, Oddish, giga drain with everything you have!"

The Oddish focused hard and Ashimi saw an opportunity. The pathway of energy, like a signal flowing through a wire, was clear to Pichu. "Now!" At his trainer's command, Pichu released all his energy at once.

It was too much for Oddish and she was badly electrocuted. The ends of her leaves dried up and broke off, leaving the remaining part burnt and shriveled, her whole body singed and twitching painfully. "Oddish!" Dorme's eyes went wide in disbelief. "No way... I had this battle, from the start, I had it!"

Pichu was breathing heavily but looking accomplished. "You did it, Pichu, I knew you could!" Ashimi cheered.

Dorme clenched her teeth and recalled Oddish into her pokeball. "I'll beat you next time, Ashimi!" Embarrassed by her loss, she gave up on any plans of showing off for Johnny in her bikini, and simply ran away.

"I can beat you any day!" Ashimi called after her retreating rival. She held Pichu in her arms and smiled.

"Good strategy, using Oddish's giga drain against her," Jonathan congratulated. "It's too bad Dorme had to leave though..."

"Forget about her," Ashimi was in too much of a good mood with her victory to complain about Johnny actually wanting Dorme to stay. "Let's just head to the Cerulean gym and get some burgers, then we can eat the chocolate cake for dessert!"

xoxox xox xoxox

After a quick stop at the pokemon center, Ashimi and Jonathan arrived at the Cerulean City gym, where they found Misty. "Hi mom, can you make us some burgers to eat and some for the road?" Ashimi immediately inquired.

Misty shook her head hopelessly and laughed. "What, no how have you been, I've missed you so much?"

"Aw, but it's only been a few days and I have been emailing... But I did miss you, now about those burgers..." Ashimi smiled sweetly.

"I think you've missed my food more than me," Misty laughed. "C'mon you two, lets get cooking and you can tell me all about your journey so far since your last email. I hope you've been keeping her out of trouble, Johnny."

"As best as I can," Jonathan laughed. He was a Rocket, as were his parents, but Jessie and James had become long time good friends of Ash and Misty and they had seen their little boy grow up, so they trusted him.

"Is dad home?" Ashimi asked.

"No, he went to take care of some business with the Pokemon League." Misty didn't specify what the business was, but having become focused on the food she was making, Ashimi and Johnny didn't ask. "You wanted him to watch your cascade badge battle, didn't you?" The Cerulean City gym leader smiled.

"Actually, I'm not here to battle, we only came to eat," Ashimi admitted before amending. "And to see you! Anyway, I want a battle that pushes us both to the limit, not like the training battles you do for other people who want badges. I've already have plenty of training battles and I want to win my cascade badge in a special way. I'll be back for it, then the earth badge will be my final stop. I already have a boulder badge, like I said in my email. I plan to go to Saffron City next."

"I see," Misty always knew her daughter had Ash's competitive spirit. "In that case, I better not neglect my training. I wouldn't want to disappoint you as a gym leader."

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi and Jonathan ended up spending the night at Cerulean City. She noticed her room was tidier than she remembered and her collection of gijinka dolls had been neatly arranged. Ash had not returned from his business with the Pokemon League, but the young trainers had a good time swimming at the Cerulean gym's pool.

After packing a picnic basket brimming with food for the road, they were on their way once again. They stopped at the bakery, but it was closed, much to their disappointment. They wondered if it was going out of business already, which would have been a pity because the cake was really good, though not as good as Delia's. Thus without further ado, Ashimi and Jonathan made their way to Saffron City.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Shout outs to Rocketlord6485, Nafa-tali and Destinie for keeping my interest in Pokemon alive. Rocketlord6485, Nafa-tali are also fanfic writers who have created some amazing stories that I highly recommend.

Chapter 1: Johnny's pillage then burn quote is... do I even have to say it? It's a standard procedure for all criminal organizations that originated in the era of pirates, established by the famed Jack Sparrow. Obviously I don't own the quote from Pirates of the Caribbean or Pokemon itself. If I did, there would be a game where you could play as a Rocket. And because no one likes to read disclaimers over and over, let's just say it belongs to Nintendo and that goes for all the upcoming chapters.

Chapter 2: Following the pattern from Don't Give Me Diamonds, I borrowed some character names from Star Wars. Brand is one such case, yes, Brand, not Brad, that's the character's name and also I thought it was funny, because Lilly and her older sisters are probably the kind of girls who love brand name items. You can check out a list of Star Wars characters at Wikipedia, though I only borrowed the names, the characters themselves are definitely not the same. I also use Bulbapedia as a reference for pokemon attacks and other details. Lilly's Gyarados is named after AndrAIa from Reboot. Though most of my name references are still going to be Star Wars based, there are a few occasional exceptions.

Chapter 3: Dorme is also another name from Star Wars. Her annoying laugh is based on Naga from Slayers. Gijinka is a name commonly given by fans to human pokemon. As you can imagine, Ashimi's gijinka doll collection is super cute! 

xoxox xox xoxox

Characters

Ashley Ketchum: The daughter of Ash and Misty, granddaughter of Delia and Giovanni. Most people know her as Ashimi, a nickname from her aunts, and few actually remember her name is Ashley. She has brown eyes and red hair. Her first pokemon, Pichu, is often seen riding on her head like a living hat. She is a month away from her birthday at the start of the story and 11 years old for most of it.

Jonathan Jancen Kojiro: More often known as Johnny, he is the 15 year old son of Jessie and James. A loyal Rocket, he is Ashimi's best friend and traveling companion. He's good at driving various vehicles and does stuff for Giovanni on the side while traveling with Ashimi. He calls her Ashy or princess (as in Rocket princess). (Yeah, I kind of borrowed James' Japanese name as his surname to give the two main characters full names, his middle name is based on Star Wars.)

Brand: Brock and Lilly's 7 year old son, Ash and Misty's nephew and Ashimi's cousin. He has tan skin and squinty eyes like his father, and pink hair like his mother. He aspires to go on his own pokemon journey and participate in the Indigo League. He holds a friendly rivalry with Ashimi, but actually looks up to her a lot.


	2. Part 2

Awakening

Chapter 4: The Shadows In Your Eyes (Part 1)

Sabrina was still the official Saffron City gym leader, though usually one of her psychic apprentices took over. She hardly ever battled the trainers who came looking for badges anymore, it simply wasn't challenging at all. Yet Ashimi had the intention of battling Sabrina herself. When she couldn't find her, Ashimi decided to take some time to train her pokemon while she waited for Sabrina to return to the gym.

Albeit Ashimi and Jonathan did make a stop at the pokemon day care center run by Jessie and James at Saffron, which was in reality a secret Rocket trading spot, Ashimi was determined not to get distracted playing with the pokemon. After having something to eat, she decided to go to the outskirts of the city to train.

Jonathan busied himself with Rocket business, leaving Ashimi alone to her training. She let Furball and Zubat out of their pokeballs, choosing not to deal with the difficult Clefable right away. She practiced a few attacks for a while, but she wasn't alone with her pokemon for long.

"Ah! Ha ha ho ha ha! If it isn't little Ashimi!" Dorme made her arrival known with her laugh.

Ashimi pouted and glared. "Go away Dorme, Johnny isn't here." She shooed her off as if she was a matter of little importance, albeit of great annoyance.

"Got tired of babysitting you, did he?" Dorme mocked.

Ashimi huffed, "I'm not a kid, I don't need a babysitter, I'm a pokemon trainer!"

"Right..." The sarcasm was dripping off Dorme's voice. "I'm sure Johnny only gives you a second glance because you're the boss's granddaughter. Yet deep down, you're just an annoying kid!"

"That's not true!" Ashimi shouted.

"Oh, you know it is," Dorme insisted with a tone of self assurance. "Now if you'll excuse me, little girl, I must find Johnny so we can discuss grown up Rocket stuff. Maybe he'll even get me a present from that cute gijinka shop!" Dorme walked away, laughing obnoxiously the whole way.

"She just has to knock the good mood right out of me," Ashimi grumbled. "C'mon guys," she signaled for her pokemon to follow her out of the wooded area and into the main road. "I could use some dessert right about now. Let's check out that ice-cream shop over at the main street."

xoxox xox xoxox

After having some ice-cream with Pichu, Furball and Zubat, Ashimi felt better. She would have called Clefable out, but she would have probably thrown the ice-cream on her face, so she decided not to. "That feels good!" Ashimi's declaration was met with full agreements from her pokemon. "Okay, time to get back to training!" As they left the ice-cream shop and once again headed to the outskirts of Saffron City, Ashimi spotted Jonathan coming out of a cutesy gijinka themed shop. He couldn't possibly be shopping for himself. Ashimi couldn't imagine him, or any other boy for that matter, using any of the things sold at that shop. "Johnny?"

Caught off guard, Jonathan hid something behind his back and smiled stiffly. "Hi..."

"Hi..." A heavy silence followed. Ashimi shifted slightly to try to see what Jonathan was hiding, but he moved along with her to keep the object behind his back. The thing was small, but that was just about all Ashimi could tell about it. "What did you buy?"

"Um... I'm just... Running an errand for my mom! See you later, good luck with your training!" Making sure to keep the mysterious object concealed, Jonathan made his escape, running down the street.

'Did he really get a gift for Dorme?' Ashimi wondered. It's not like Jonathan had ever outright rejected Dorme, did he like her or something? What would it be like to have a best friend dating an annoying rival? Ashimi didn't even want to imagine that. "This sucks..." She concluded. "I really need to blow off some steam! We'll train and train, and we'll even camp out and keep on training and we won't set foot in the city again until it's time to face Sabrina!" Thus it was done.

xoxox xox xoxox

By the time Sabrina returned to the gym, Ashimi was ready for an intense battle. She marched to the arena full of determination and challenged Sabrina.

The psychic laughed, unsurprised. "I was told you were waiting to challenge me, though I rarely participate in gym battles in person anymore. One of my apprentices should have been enough of a challenge for you." Sabrina's air of mystery had multiplied over the years. Her psychic powers were at a whole new level and her voice seemed to echo. Anyone who had seen her years before wouldn't have imagined her in that dark cloak, but Ashimi didn't know her as anything other than the mysterious shadowy figure that floated before her.

Sabrina was the leader of her own organization of psychics, one that was allied to Team Rocket and would be instrumental when the time came to go public with their takeover and it had already been extremely helpful so far. Though Team Rocket already controlled the world from behind the scenes, they couldn't just come out and say it, the panic that would ensue would shake the very foundations of humanity.

"You'll be a much better challenge!" Ashimi replied as soon as she was able to find her voice.

"Very well, if you truly want a challenge, how about a battle of mental endurance?" Sabrina smirked and her eyes glowed ominously.

"That sounds interesting, I accept!" Ashimi pushed her voice to come out as strong as possible, though it was no easy task. There was something about the psychic gym leader that was just creepy, yet at the same time, very cool.

"You should not accept the unknown so easily." Sabrina's eerily echoing voice warned. A strange mist flooded the arena with black shadows and silver sparks.

Ashimi felt as if she was floating in space. She could no longer feel the floor beneath her feet and the air became thin and hard to breathe. 'Maybe I should have just battled mom first,' Ashimi swallowed the lump in her throat and took a deep breath.

"One on one," Sabrina's voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere.

Ashimi squinted into the darkness, but she couldn't see the Saffron gym leader at all. "Okay... Pichu, I choose you!" Pichu let out a scared squeak and peered down from the top of Ashimi's head. He couldn't see the floor at all and whimpered unsure. Ashimi picked up the little yellow pokemon and tried to set him at her feet, but rather than floating like she was, the Pichu plummeted into the darkness below. "Pichu!" She felt a fear and a pain, her worry increased and so did her pain, as if fear had become a physical ailment, her head was pounding.

"See through the eyes of your pokemon and become as one!" Sabrina's voice echoed.

Ashimi closed her eyes in a trance and when she opened them, she was getting on her feet at a shadowy arena, surrounded by the same space-like mist. This time she could feel the floor beneath her, but just barely, as her senses were numb. Her body moved on its own, taking a step back as a tall Alakazam approached. Then she realized it wasn't her body at all. She wasn't really seeing this, Pichu was seeing it and the images were somehow in her mind.

"Pichu," no words came from her mouth but her own voice echoed in her mind.

"Ashy, what do I do?" A small child-like voice called out to her.

"Pichu?" Then Johnny wasn't the only one who called her Ashy after all, Pichu did too. She was actually mentally talking to her pokemon, this was awesome! She suddenly wondered what Jonathan was doing. If he went out with Dorme, would she tag along with her on her pokemon quest, or would Johnny stop traveling with her?

Pichu was suddenly lifted off the floor by Alakazam's psychic powers. Ashimi was so distracted that she didn't even hear when Sabrina gave the command. "Clear your mind or your thoughts will be as a maze for your pokemon," Sabrina warned.

"Pichu!" Getting her head back in the battle, Ashimi tried to communicate with her pokemon partner. "Thunderbolt!" Ashimi could feel Pichu tensing up, but no electricity came. "I think we need to do this together, but I don't know what shooting electricity is supposed to feel like. Let's try to focus here, electricity, strength, energy, power, go!" Sparks ignited around Pichu, and he electrocuted himself.

Ashimi felt the shock as if all her nerves were burning, then Pichu's body went limp. Ashimi was surrounded by darkness and heaviness, her pokemon had closed his eyes. She felt like she was falling and hit the floor with a thud. Then she opened her eyes, awakening from her trance and she was falling again. She hit the floor once more, this time for real rather than through Pichu's sensations. The dark mist cleared out and Ashimi was once again on the arena, her Pichu lay unconscious just a few feet away. "I... I lost..."

Offering no condolences, Sabrina simply breathed, "miserably..."

Disappointed, Ashimi picked up her Pichu, cradling him in her arms, "I'm sorry..."

"Will you challenge one of my apprentices in a regular pokemon battle for a marsh badge?" Sabrina inquired as she recalled her Alakazam and floated across the arena. Her feet never touched the floor, causing her to tower over anyone.

Ashimi paused, she had clearly gotten herself into more than she could handle, but to obtain a marsh badge from anyone other than the true gym leader felt like an empty victory. "No..." Her voice was a barely audible whisper at first, then she forced herself to speak clearly. "No I won't, the only marsh badge I'll accept has to be from you! I want a rematch!"

"Good, if you had run like a coward after challenging me, I would have made sure you were denied the marsh badge," Sabrina spoke harshly. "However, I will not waste my precious time with you. You'll get one more chance, and if you fail, you can forget about ever having a marsh badge."

Sabrina's warning was scary, but Ashimi called upon her most stubborn determination and forced herself to answer. "I won't fail!"

xoxox xox xoxox

After her experience at the Saffron gym, Ashimi went to the pokemon center. After a while, the local Joy returned her healed Pichu. "Sorry about today. I forgot that Pichu tend to shock themselves, it's an accomplishment in itself that you can usually control your electricity well enough not to. That was completely my mistake, I tried to force the power out and threw it out of control. But how can we win? Sabrina is a psychic, so she knows what it's like to use psychic powers. How can I synchronize myself with you if I only just now learned a little of what it's like to control electricity?"

Ashimi was still lost in thought at the lobby of the pokemon center when Jonathan arrived looking for her. "Hey princess, where have you been?"

Ashimi tried to put on a brave front and smiled, "around. What about you? Hanging out with Dorme?"

"Dorme came to Saffron?" Jonathan sounded like he genuinely had not known. "I guess I must have missed her, I have been helping my parents with their Rocket duties and other stuff lately."

"Really?" Ashimi felt somewhat relieved. 'He was telling the truth earlier, but then why did he hide what he bought?'

"Let's go to my parents' place, there's food." Jonathan was pretty sure that would easily convince Ashimi to come along, and he was right. The girl had her father's appetite.

xoxox xox xoxox

Upon arriving at Jessie and James' pokemon day care center, Ashimi was greeted with a chorus of "happy birthday!" She had been so caught up in her traveling and training she had not realized it was her birthday. Jessie, James, Meowth and their pokemon were present of course, and also Ash, Misty and Delia were there.

"This is awesome! I can't believe I forgot it was my birthday!" Ashimi laughed, her mood had taken a complete turn for the better. She still had Sabrina's challenge to think about, but for the time being she would focus on the present, after all, it was hard to think about anything else when there was a delicious cake in sight.

Ashimi eyed the cake with sparkles in her eyes and looked at Delia. "Yes, I did make it," she confirmed. "It's a chocolate cake with peanut butter chips, layered with cookies and cream icecream." Delia knew it was Ashimi's favorite. As for the outside of the cake, it was framed with oreos charlotte style with rainbow sprinkles and raspberries on top.

"Awesome!" Ashimi cheered. Though there were some pretty good bakeries around Kanto, no one could cook and bake like her grandmother.

The Starlight Delight hadn't become a famous franchise of secret recipes in Kalos for nothing. Though it started as a cover up for Giovanni to begin his take-over of the region, soon everyone was lining up to get a taste of Delia's cakes. She even had to train a few Rockets to make them, as she couldn't supply enough for their cover-up by herself. The cakes were of high quality, made separately in small mixing bowls to ensure that each individual cake's consistency was just right. As the process was so carefully monitored, they were sold as pricey gourmet cakes, which Delia thought didn't fit with the image of the homey little restaurant she once owned, the Pallet House, she never would have guessed her cooking would end up having such an effect. It was only a matter of time before the franchise was expanded to other regions, though it would never become a shop of mass produced cakes, as such, the expansion would be slow but convenient, opening the doors of the homes of many wealthy and influential cake fans.

Overall, Ashimi had a very good birthday. She got plenty of supplies for her journey, snacks to take along and even some gijinka collectibles, though she had to leave them at home so as to not carry too much of a heavy load during her journey. She did eventually solve the mystery of what Johnny had gotten from the gijinka themed shop. It was a cute cellphone case with a picture of a chibi pikachu gijinka floating on a lifesaver, which now adorned her phone.

xoxox xox xoxox

After the birthday, Delia returned to Viridian City where Giovanni was. Misty had to return to Cerulean City to take care of the gym, and Ash was called away on business by the Pokemon League again, that was happening more often than usual lately, but Ashimi didn't give it too much thought. Ash knew why they were doing it and knew that if he was to get his request he'd have to do a few jobs for the League. He didn't exactly dedicate himself to his duties after he won the championship, instead choosing to continue traveling until Ashimi was born. 

Even then, he would take her and Misty on the road whenever Misty could get one of her sisters to take care of the gym for her. That had become a little easier in the most recent years when one of her older nephews offered to take her place every now and then, while Misty fell into her old habits of traveling to the ends of the earth and back on Ash's whims. Perhaps that was the reason why Ashimi was content going from one place to another in a car now. She had started to hike through every corner of Kanto as soon as she could walk. She would encounter wild pokemon, chase after them and play with them, but they weren't hers to catch at the time. She grew up surrounded by pokemon, they were her friends and she didn't really feel like catching more than she could truly pay attention to.

"Are you going to the gym today?" Jonathan inquired after Ash, Misty and Delia had left.

"Not yet," Ashimi decided. "I'm going back into the woods in the outskirts of the city and training. There's something I need to do before I can face Sabrina... again," she confessed.

"Again?" Jonathan questioned.

"You didn't miss much," Ashimi insisted. "I lost, but I think I know what to do to win, I just have to train. I also need some equipment, I'm sure your parents won't mind letting me borrow a little something."

Jessie and James seemed to pop out of nowhere in the front lobby, despite having been tending to the pokemon in the back seconds prior. "What do you need, Princess Rocket?" Jessie asked with a big smile.

"We'll do anything we can to assist you in your quest, your highness," James added.

Ashimi giggled, it all started when Ash had jokingly complained about his daughter being treated like a princess while he was still referred to as twerp, despite being a grown man. That only caused Jessie and James to poke fun at him by making their royal treatment silly and over the top.

"I was wondering if you have any equipment that can redirect electricity," Ashimi asked.

"As a matter of fact we do," Jessie recalled. "I think we have a few things that fit the description stashed off in the basement."

"We used to get gadgets like that all the time years ago to try to steal your dad's pikachu," James fondly recalled. "Afterwards we kept on collecting little things like that, I guess old habits die hard. But whose pikachu are you planning to steal?" James joked.

"Who knows..." Ashimi replied with an air of playful mystery.

"Maybe I should be the one getting all the equipment and stealing your Pichu," Jonathan joked.

"Ha, just try it, if you steal him you'll have to feed him and you'll be begging me to take him back before you know it!" Ashimi teased. Pichu gave her a playful electric shock in response and feigned indignation. "Ow, ow, save it for the training."

xoxox xox xoxox

A short while later, Ashimi left the pokemon day care center with a peculiar metal stick on hand. It was a type of lightning rod that could catch and return electric attacks. Its rubber covering on the handle protected the one holding it while it was charged. As they walked towards the edge of the city, Meowth exited the pokemon day care and caught up to them. His daughter, Nya, was happily running next to him and jumped towards Jonathan.

"Do you want to come see Ashy train?" The teen scratched the feline behind the ears and she purred contently. Purrloin were not very common in Kanto, so the people who came and went from the pokemon day care center often stopped to observe the kitten. She was very young and still quite small. She liked playing with balls of yarn and often got tangled up on them.

Her mother was a Purrloin cared for by Delia after the passing of her previous owner. She was a gift from Giovanni after they got into an argument about something or other concerning his expansion to Kalos. He intended to get her a pokemon from that region, as baby pokemon were more effective in subduing her anger then big expensive jewelry, as he had learned over time. Yet urgent business called him away to Unova to meet with a colleague who turned out not to have called him in the first place. Instead he was given the news of his mother's passing, gathered what little resources she hadn't splurged, as her lifestyle became more expensive than usual since her move to Unova, and got her newest house pet. He gave the Purrloin to Delia, who immediately loved her, which eventually led to her meeting Meowth. The talking pokemon was determined to pay her no mind, since he had his heart broken too many times, but in the end one thing led to another and they fell in love. She moved in with Jessie and James soon after.

Walking at a less rushed pace, the Purrloin mother made her way to the distraught Meowth and nudged him, pronouncing a few airheaded yet encouraging words that only pokemon could understand. With tears in his eyes, Meowth looked up at Jonathan, who was clearly perplexed by his behavior. "Please... Please take good care of her!" Unable to utter any more coherent words, Meowth burst into a big waterworks show, a waterfall of tears coming from each eye.

Jonathan and Ashimi blinked in perplexity until Meowth's words sunk in. "You want to come with me?" Jonathan asked. Nya nodded energetically and rubbed her head against his hand. She was so small that his palm could cover her entire head. He looked at the crying Meowth, "relax, Nya will be fine." Yet there was simply no consolation for the emotional father. Purrloin patted him on the shoulder and smiled, at least she was okay with their daughter wanting to travel with Jonathan instead of staying at Saffron all the time.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 5: The Shadows In Your Eyes (Part 2)

After they more or less got Meowth to calm down, Ashimi and Jonathan continued on their way just outside of Saffron City where she would continue her training. Jonathan put Nya down and she became fascinated with a stray leaf, swiping at it to toss it in the air. She rolled, ending up on her back below the falling leaf which landed on her nose, she looked cross-eyed for a moment trying to look at it, before blowing and causing the leaf to jump up from her nose and fall slowly once again. She swiped at it with her paws as the leaf fell, until a breeze blew it off course. Rolling right side up she jumped, trying to catch it, but the wind blew it away. Nya landed with her paws cupped over nothing. She lifted one paw and the then the other, marveling at the lack of leaf. She spun around looking for her lost plaything and caught sight of her tail instead, occupying herself in chasing it until she was dizzy.

During her stay with Delia, Giovanni had observed that the Purrloin he obtained from his deceased mother was not the sharpest knife in the drawer and wondered aloud if she ingested the pink dye used on her fur. Delia was about to scold him for being mean, but stopped when she saw the Purrloin rubbing against his leg affectionately. He had not spoken harshly, his voice taking on an almost joking tone and she took it to mean a good thing. As long as she wasn't yelled at, she would take everything as well meant. Delia wasn't sure if the Purrloin was fully aware that pokemon that spoke the human language were particularly rare, or if she even noticed that Meowth was unusual. She was used to wearing extravagant hats and accessories at her previous trainer's whims and nothing seemed odd to her. 

Purrloin's fur stayed pink, making Delia later conclude that Giovanni's mother must have injected her with something that mutated her that way. Her child was expected to be the normal violet color of a Purrloin, though she ended up being lavender, her paler fur attributed to some pigmentation mutation from her mother. Meowth had suggested the name Nyarth, but her mother had taken to calling her Nya, so he settled for that. She was a curious kitten, displaying the need to know of her father, comically paired with the scattered brained distraction of her mother, which made most of her investigative endeavors utterly unsuccessful, but still cute.

Nya finally got dizzy from chasing her tail and plopped down on the grass, her limbs stretched in every direction and her head moving from side to side. Jonathan let Foxtrot out of his pokeball, instructing him to keep an eye on Nya, then turned his attention to Ashimi. "What did you have in mind for training?"

"I need to get a feel for electricity," Ashimi removed the rubber cover on the rod's handle and tossed it in her bag.

"You're going to really feel it if you use it like that..." Jonathan observed.

"Yup," Ashimi agreed, as if getting electrocuted on purpose was a perfectly normal thing to do. She explained how her battle with Sabrina went and her training made a little more sense, but still looked a tad extreme, yet fitting for Ashimi's impulsive tendencies. "Okay Pichu, give me a little shock." The Pichu shook his head, refusing at first, but Ashimi managed to coax him into attacking her. She cringed at the feeling of electricity coursing through her but forced herself to be strong. "More..."

Little by little, the electric charge increased until Jonathan began to worry. He tried to share his concerns, but Ashimi wouldn't hear it. Nya looked at the light show, smiled and ran towards it because it was pretty and shiny. Foxtrot snatched her back before she got hurt, but they were close enough to the flow of electricity for their fur to become comically fluffy and charged with static.

Ashimi used the rod to redirect the electricity, getting a feel for what it was like for electricity to gather at a specific point. It was the end of the rod attracting it, but at least she could feel the flow of its movements, even if it was rather painful. Exhausted and sore, Ashimi collapsed in a mess of static and twitching, her hair just as fluffed up as the pokemon's fur. As Jonathan tried to help her up, he ended up getting a jolt of leftover electricity too. Ashimi laughed despite her pain, "you should see your hair."

"It can't be any worse than yours, puffball." Jonathan was relieved to hear her joke. If she could still poke fun at him, then she couldn't be that bad off.

"Okay, I think I have a feel for the flow of electricity, now I just need to work on not getting shocked. That should be less painful," Ashimi stumbled, her head spinning from all the shocks.

"Maybe you should take a break first," Jonathan suggested.

Ashimi let out a breath and tried to steady herself. "Okay, but only for a little while." Something bumped into her leg softly and she looked down to see a lavender ball of fluff, any shape beyond the roundness being imperceptible; she couldn't help it but to laugh.

After a short break, Ashimi went on to the next part of her training. This was significantly less painful for her but challenging for Pichu. She had the pokemon use electricity around her, but not on her. At first Pichu slipped often and shocked her, though she encouraged him and claimed she was slowly getting a feel for what it was like to be surrounded by electricity without actually being shocked. Pichu also gained more control because of the exercise, which would certainly come in handy. There was a secret move that could be done with electricity, yet few pokemon could perform it. It required very precise control that Pichu was trained for by his mother, but ultimately was too young to master. Ashimi knew of this and tried to continue the training though she didn't push Pichu too hard, being aware that even if he came close, a perfect move was simply not something a Pichu could do. 

The ability was not designed for battle, but as support for the Rockets of the tech department, hackers and machine experts. The goal was to output a very precise stream of energy in a near perfect straight line, rather than the zigzag pattern electric attacks usually took. This would allow small components to be powered without affecting the machinery around them. In infiltration situations, it could mean avoiding detection by short-circuiting key elements and leaving the rest functional to prevent alarms. Yet even if it wasn't originally made for that purpose, it could also be used in battle and it was powerful. The superficial damage would be hard to perceive, but the way the nervous system would react would be extremely painful. The target would experience pain well beyond the truth of the damage, allowing opponents to be defeated without serious injury. It was also quite convenient for interrogations, but Ashimi wasn't really aware of that part. As an extreme, the ability code-named lightning laser could be used as a way to attack the heart, causing irregularities in its beating, which could potentially provoke a heart attack, but Ashimi wasn't aware of that part either.

xoxox xox xoxox

After taking some more time to train, Ashimi felt that she had done all she could do. She could practice more and Pichu could get stronger, but that wasn't the problem anyway. Sabrina was testing her endurance and mental capability to see if she could feel what a pokemon felt and deal with it. This was a test of mental strength rather than physical strength. When Pichu was fed and well rested, it was again time to try to win a marsh badge.

Once again, Ashimi marched towards the main street, this time with Jonathan at her side. As they left the wooded area in the city outskirts and entered the main street, the person following them looked around for a hiding spot. "What? Aren't you going to follow all the way?"

Realizing that she had been discovered, Dorme stepped out of hiding. "I'm not following you, I'm just passing by!"

"And you happened to be going to the gym?" Ashimi suspiciously asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Dorme crossed her arms over her chest and firmly planted her feet on the ground, her nose up in the air.

"I won't stop you," Ashimi voiced. "If you want to see my battle that's fine by me."

"C'mon Dorme, let's cheer her on together," Jonathan gave Dorme a friendly pat on the back to encourage her to join them in a way that would hopefully make the two girls learn to get along.

Feeling his hand on her shoulder, Dorme smiled, her cheeks taking on a slightly pink hue. "Okay..." Then she realized what she had agreed to and jumped back as if she had been burned. "No way! I don't want to cheer her on!" 

"Not that I need it," Ashimi continued her determined march to the Saffron gym. She knew the battle that awaited would be difficult, but she had a feeling that if she put it off any longer Sabrina would make it even harder. The psychic didn't like cowards and Ashimi certainly wasn't one. " This is it, It's time for me to battle Sabrina!"

Dorme's eyes went wide. "You mean you're not battling her lackeys? Sabrina may be an ally to Team Rocket, but judging from what I heard, she won't go easy on you just because you're Giovanni's granddaughter. "

"I know, but I have to do this, I already challenged her," as for having already lost to her once before, Ashimi felt that Dorme didn't need to know that. 

"I'm not going to play cheerleader for you, but I want to see this," Dorme was visibly excited to see the famous Sabrina in action. "You're going to lose so badly! Ah! Ha ha ho ha ha!" 

"We'll see about that!" Ashimi could feel her determination growing along with her annoyance.

"Ashy..." Jonathan spoke in a distinctly non-confrontational tone. "Don't get mad at me for saying this, but if you need a high level of focus, then this isn't the time to lose your temper."

"I haven't lost my temper!" Ashimi shouted, proving that she had indeed done the opposite of what she claimed. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Focus... focus... concentrate... deep breaths... calming breaths..." 

Dorme grinned quietly as she watched Ashimi try hard to calm herself, she could be pretty loud and distracting when she wanted to be. The blond noticed Jonathan giving her a suspicious look and smiled innocently, as if she hadn't been plotting anything at all.

xoxox xox xoxox

At the Saffron City gym, Ashimi stepped forward towards the arena. She figured Sabrina would notice she was back and arrive soon enough. This was true, though her arrival was not what Ashimi and her companions expected, as the psychic teleported into the opposite side of the arena. "Let us begin..." Sabrina's voice echoed.

The same dark mist from before invaded the arena. Jonathan and Dorme could no longer see Ashimi or each other. The blond stepped closer to where she thought he was and reached for his hand in the darkness. She thought she felt something and grabbed at it, in her haste not paying attention to the fact that it wasn't hand-shaped. She suddenly jumped forward and both her hands flew to cover her behind. "Johnny, did you just grab my tail?" She shouted in shock. After the surprise faded, she wasn't sure if she should be angry or happy. "Johnny? You can stop hiding in the creepy mist, I won't slap you, I promise." No reply came and she reached into the darkness again, stretching her right arm forward. She felt the hand on her backside again and grabbed at the wrist with her left. She felt someone grab her right wrist at the same time and screamed. 

Dorme pulled her hand back and felt who she had assumed to be Johnny trying to free himself from her grip. She refused to let go and as she held on, she felt the grip on her other hand become tighter. She looked back and noticed something strange, the hand she held had a glove like hers. Now that she thought about it, the wrist was also kind of thin and... feminine? She tugged at it and felt a tug on her other hand. She let go and moved her fingers. "What?" As her right hand was now free, she pulled it back and looked at it. She turned her head to look behind her and reached out, seeing her own hand emerge from the mist. "Now that's just creepy." Dorme pulled both arms close to her body and hugged herself. "Wait, that means it was just me all along, it was never Johnny at all..." She wasn't sure if she should be relieved or disappointed.

Jonathan was lost in the dark mist also. The silvery points of light looked like little distant stars, but far from being a means of orientation, they were rather disconcerting. He saw the tiny silver specs, but they provided no illumination, the dark fog was as thick as ever. "Ashy! Dorme!" Even if he called out as loud as he could, he could hardly even hear his own voice. The lavender Purrloin in his arms whimpered in fright and covered her eyes with her front paws, hiding her face. "It's okay, Nya, it's not as scary inside your pokeball." Jonathan secured the little pokemon into a capsule and continued his investigation of the surrounding area. He started walking but felt like he wasn't getting anywhere. Suddenly, the fog stretched into tentacles that wrapped around him. He struggled to get free, but couldn't move a muscle.

"Johnny?" Dorme's figure slowly emerged from the darkness and spotted Jonathan. "Johnny!" She ran to him and tried to free him from the odd dark material that held him in place.

"Be careful, don't get caught too," Jonathan warned.

"This place is creepy..." Dorme took a deep breath and tried to be brave. "Go Oddish!" The pokeball didn't respond. "Oddish?" She opened up the pokeball, pulling the two halves apart, and a bright red light came from within, but just as quickly it retreated and the pokeball closed itself. "It's stuck..." She reached for another pokeball from her belt.

"It won't work..." Johnny concluded. "If Sabrina doesn't want you to call out your pokemon you won't be able to." He paused, looking at the darkness beyond, he thought he saw Pichu.

"What can we do?" Before Dorme received any answers, the fog around her stretched and grabbed her, wrapping around her body and holding her in place. "Ah! It's not fair! I wasn't even going to cheer for Ashimi! Sabrina, I'm on your side!"

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi remained calm while her body went into a trance and her mind connected with Pichu. She couldn't hear Johnny cheering her on or Dorme tossing out annoying remarks, but she assumed they were somewhere in the darkness. Yet this was no time to think about her cheering squad, or lack thereof, she had to concentrate on Pichu and the battle. "Just like we practiced..."

Pichu's electricity began to build up slowly. Ashimi didn't rush it, remembering what it was like to feel the electricity flow. "Ashy, we're doing it!" Pichu's young voice echoed in Ashimi's mind.

"That's right, we're going to win! Thunderbolt!" Pichu dashed forward on the offensive and attacked Alakazam, who quickly teleported out of the way.

"Behind us!"Ashimi called out, taking a guess. Where else would Alakazam want to appear? Appearing behind an opponent was a classic trick and the guess was correct. "Thunderbolt!" This time the attack flowed out faster, with more confidence, but Alakazam disappeared and dodged it again.

Pichu turned around, but didn't find anyone behind him. "Where did he go?"

"Above?" Ashimi guessed. She wouldn't put it past this particular Alakazam to be able to freely levitate with ease, his trainer could do it after all. Sure enough there was Alakazam, floating above Pichu. "Thunderbolt!" Just as they were going to attack again, the image of Alakazam became an entrapped Johnny, and Ashimi tried to pull back the power on instinct while Pichu attempted to diminish it to the point of harmlessness. The difference in their tactics caused the electricity to shock Pichu, but fortunately, it wasn't intense enough to knock him out. "Sorry Pichu, let's stay synchronized from now on." Trying to call back the electricity was a big mistake, but Ashimi didn't think diminishing it would work ideally either, she could feel Pichu's fatigue as he had tried to cancel out the attack, causing the sparks to become wider, but in a much shorter range. "Next time, lets try to redirect the attack altogether."

"Got it!" Pichu looked around, Ashimi's vision following the movements of his head, seeing through his eyes. Alakazam was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Pichu was lifted off the floor.

"Don't panic," Ashimi advised, both to Pichu and herself. "We can still win this. Feel the flow of psychic power just like you can sense the flow of electricity and follow it to the target... Thunder!" The psychic grip tightened and lifted Pichu higher, then began to descend with amazing speed. The thunder attack reached Alakazam in a direct hit and the psychic force pushing him to the ground was gone, but gravity was still in place; unlike Ashimi's sleeping body, Pichu wasn't floating. "Thunderbolt the ground!"

Pichu reacted fast and aimed his electricity for the mist covered floor below. He looked like a rocket, he wasn't flying, but he was at least falling slower. The yellow pokemon still hit the floor with a thud, but it could have been a lot worse. Sore and tired, Pichu struggled to get on his feet. "Ow... Are we still winning?"

"We're getting there..." Ashimi tried to stay positive.

Out of the darkness, Alakazam appeared, he was looking kind of singed, especially the ends of his mustache, and he seemed to be suffering from a headache. "Following the flow of Alakazam's psychic power to attack him, a clever trick," Sabrina's voice echoed. "To sense the flow of energy and ride their current is a precious art, did you know it was I who initially mentioned it to the Rocket tech department while they were working on machines that amplified and utilized my power? They made good use of the concept."

"I thought you didn't want to be hooked up to any machines," Ashimi voiced in surprise. That was what she had heard, Team Rocket trying to convince Sabrina to participate in some project the details of which Ashimi was uncertain of, and Sabrina refusing.

"It is not that I distrust technology, but those who control it," Sabrina answered simply. "You remain unaware of the true power of precise targeting. Even with light attacks in the right spot, the result can be significant, what would happen with strong attacks if they can be made just as precise?" Sabrina didn't wait for an answer to her rhetorical question before making Dorme appear in front of Alakazam. "You don't like this one much, do you? Will you go through her to attack?"

"Pichu?" Dorme looked confused at the image that was suddenly in front of her.

"I don't have to..." Ashimi was determined. "Just like we practiced, Pichu! Surround Dorme with electricity but don't hit her, hit Alakazam."

When Dorme saw Pichu getting ready to attack in her direction, she was alarmed and struggled to get free to no avail. Yet the electricity passed next to her in a zigzagging semi circle and hit Alakazam behind her.

Dorme disappeared into the darkness again. A chuckle was heard in an echo and the warning in Sabrina's voice of, "don't let it go to your head..." Then quickly a command, "psycho cut!"

Unlike in previous occasions, Ashimi and Pichu actually heard Sabrina's order that time, which gave Pichu a warning to react to and dodge. He was able to avoid most of the damage, but got caught on the tip of the tail. The psycho cut was sharper than usual, enough to create a cut and draw blood. Pichu cried out in pain while Ashimi tried to calm him. "It's almost over, Pichu, just hold on a little longer, we'll win this soon. I'll focus on the pain and maybe that will pass it onto me and make it less for you, just focus on our final move. They're not expecting us to recover quickly, now's our chance to end this!" 

Pichu got ready for another electric attack, but strangely, Alakazam didn't move. There was an odd glow around him and once again they had not heard what Sabrina's command had been, she had probably sent her pokemon a private psychic message. "Pichu, pretend to attack with thunderbolt, get close and miss." Ashimi wasn't sure what the glow was, but it was probably a light screen or some kind of counter attack technique. If it had been a direct psychic attack, they would have already felt it. Pichu did as instructed, pretending not to notice Alakazam's strategy. Just as the thunderbolt missed the target and served as a distraction, it was the opportunity they needed. "Bite!"

Taken off guard and not being used to direct physical attacks, Alakazam dropped one of his spoons as Pichu lashed on to his wrist harshly. The pained psychic pokemon lost his concentration and the glow of his defenses faded, leaving him exposed to an attack. He lifted his other hand with the intention of smacking the electric pokemon away with his remaining spoon, but it was too late.

"Thunder!" With the last of his energy, Pichu released the final attack. Alakazam twitched wildly as he was electrocuted, then became still, fainted. The defeated psychic pokemon fell backwards and Pichu finally released his wrist, rolling onto his back and breathing heavily, he could no longer stand and soon darkness overcame his senses. 

As Pichu closed his eyes, Ashimi's vision turned dark, but she couldn't allow it, she gave the pokemon her energy, calling his exhaustion to her, until he opened his eyes again, long enough to utter the words, "we won..." The quiet whisper came out as a simple "pi chu..." outside of their minds, but it was enough to make it clear which pokemon had stayed awake the longest, enough to prove that Pichu was still conscious when Alakazam wasn't.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 6: What's an Adventure Without a High-Speed Chase?

Ashimi was lowered onto the floor of the Saffron gym more gently this time. Jonathan and Dorme were released and at her side in seconds. Exhausted and dizzy, Ashimi couldn't stay on her feet, but two pairs of arms on either side of her prevented her from face planting onto the floor. "Johnny?" She looked to her right and smiled, then looked to her left in surprise. "Dorme?"

"I still don't like you, but I have to admit, you did really well training your Pichu... Even if you're still a brat!" That was as close as Dorme could get to a compliment.

Ashimi laughed tiredly and looked into the fading mist of the arena. She saw Pichu a few feet away. The little yellow pokemon gently floated in Sabrina's telekinesis. Ashimi steadied herself just enough to extend her arms and hold her pokemon. "You're amazing, Pichu! I'll take you to the pokemon center now and you'll be all better soon. Then you can have lots of yummy poke-treats!"

"You did not sacrifice your allies regardless of who they are and you remained alert to possible last minute retaliations; all of that will be useful in the future. You have passed the test." Sabrina floated in front of Ashimi and her companions, then without a warning she disappeared and in her place there floated a marsh badge.

Ashimi cradled Pichu with one arm and caught the marsh badge in the palm of her other hand. "We did it, Pichu! Thanks Sabrina, this is a battle I'll never forget!" Though the psychic was no longer visible, Ashimi was pretty sure she was still heard. The aspiring pokemon master, her friend and her self-proclaimed rival, exited the Saffron City gym, with the redhead dragging her feet heavily. Between big breaths, only a few steps out of the gym, she confessed, "I have such a big headache." She was also sore all over, though at least humans didn't have tails, so that was one less pained appendage to worry about. "I think I'm going to," she began to lose her balance, "fall..."

"Sheesh, so much for a dignified victory," Dorme snorted. "Hey, Johnny, give her a piggyback ride, I'll carry Pichu."

"Okay," Jonathan agreed. By the time Ashimi was on his back, she was already out like a light, lightly snoring into his ear. "She sleeping," he stated.

"She's snoring," Dorme observed, "I don't snore," she added with a little pride.

"How would you know if you're sleeping when it happens?" Johnny teased.

Dorme pouted, "I just know!"

He laughed while she tossed her hair in annoyance. "Thanks for helping. It's nice that you two are getting along... sort of."

Dorme smile despite trying to sound indifferent, "this is as close as it gets," she assured. 'Of course, I only asked you to give her a piggyback ride because I really don't want to carry her and it's better than seeing you carry her bridal style, but you don't need to know that, dear Johnny,' she thought.

xoxox xox xoxox

While they were resting at Jessie and James' pokemon day care, Laiki, the Rocket pokemon doctor stationed at the Viridian headquarters, arrived. She claimed that she was doing a routine inspection to make sure all the Rocket pokemon were kept in good enough conditions that they wouldn't be an embarrassment in a battle, but she didn't actually perform the inspection at all. She knew Jessie and James took better care of the pokemon than most Rockets anyway, thus she took the official visit as a holiday to shop and chat. "Ashimi, I'm glad I ran into you," the blond pokemon doctor dug around her bag and retrieved a pokeball. "Gary saved you one and I told him which one to pick. You should probably give him some exercise, I haven't been walking him or anything." For all her careless disregard, Laiki was ironically a very effective healer in all aspects of pokemon health, except anesthesia, which she was notorious for performing without, claiming that the rush of adrenaline and other chemicals helped keep critical patients alive.

"Another pokemon, this is awesome!" Ashimi released the creature and found a little Squirtle. She squealed with delight at the sight of the creature. "Squirtle! This is so totally the one I would have picked, I needed the water element on my team. Thank you so much for bringing him! I should email a thank you to Gary too. I just couldn't wait to start my journey that day and didn't stick around for him to get up."

Jessie and James had found the tale pretty funny, as they had heard about Ash's lateness in getting his starter pokemon, which resulted in his first encounter with Pikachu. Laiki shrugged as if the situation had nothing to do with her. "Who knows, maybe Gary found his bed to be particularly comfortable that morning, though I'm sure I can't imagine why." Laiki's absolutely innocent tone caused Jessie to take notice and make a mental note to get the full story out of her later.

Later, after they were well rested and feeling refreshed, Jonathan and Ashimi headed to Vermilion City. Dorme claimed she had important Team Rocket duties to tend to and did not accompany them, though she did hang around while they were at Saffron. Jessie never liked Dorme because she was the daughter of Domino, though James was a lot more lenient towards her, trying to convince Jessie that it didn't matter who the girl's parents were. Jessie's mother had been a Rocket, as was she, but James was nothing like his parents. He knew from experience that though parents are a big influence in their children's lives, no one is a copy of their parents. Dorme wasn't fond of Jessie for the simple fact that Jessie made it clear she wasn't fond of her. 

xoxox xox xoxox

The road between Saffron and Vermilion was calm and the day was sunny and nice. Ashimi leaned back in the passenger seat and relaxed, while Jonathan grinned at his reflection in the rear view mirror, his eyes filled with adoration for the car.

"Narcissist much?" Ashimi teased.

"I was admiring the car, not me, though I do look cool driving it," Jonathan defended. Another glance at the mirror showed someone approaching from behind on a motorcycle.

Ashimi was about to formulate a comeback when she saw his look of concentration and glanced at the mirror herself. She blinked and turned her head to look behind them at the rapidly approaching motorcycle.

"Is it a cop?" Johnny looked through the plethora of symbols on the touch screen digital display next to the steering wheel. "The scanner didn't pick up anything, so I didn't think it mattered that I was going a bit over the speed limit." More than just a bit, he noticed upon closer inspection, but the ride was very smooth, so he could hardly feel it. The rooftop was up to shield them from the sun and without the wind as a velocity indicator, he had forgotten to look at the display and drove faster than he intended. Although that still didn't explain why the officer wasn't detected by the police GPS radar.

"I don't think that's a Jenny, or any other cop," Ashimi replied. As the person approached, Ashimi noticed that it was a girl around Jonathan's age. 

The girl had dark skin, mid-back black curly hair in low pigtails with two chin-length blond bleached curls framing her face. She wore dark colored clothing, shorts, a tank-top, boots and gloves. Riding behind her on the motorcycle there was a Houndour, which placed his paws on the girl's shoulders and glared at the car ahead. "Houndour, use flamethrower!" The girl on the motorcycle suddenly exclaimed. The pokemon riding with her breathed fire towards the indigo car in front of them, right on target.

Jonathan made a sharp turn off the road at the last second, narrowly avoiding the attack. The car bounced on the rocks and bushes, having had no time for any adaptations with the suddenness of the attack. "Switching to all terrain mode." The car's suspension stretched and the ride became smoother as the shock of the uneven terrain was absorbed.

"She's still coming!" Ashimi warned. The girl on the motorcycle had followed them out of the road into their improvised path. "We need to counter-attack!"

"With missiles?" Jonathan inquired. The car was equipped with hidden artillery, but it might be a bit much.

Ashimi thought about it and concluded, "that would definitely be overkill." The car violently swerved to the side as Jonathan dodged another fireball. "Johnny, open the rooftop!"

"Okay, but that just means we have a lot less armor between us and the fire." Despite his warning, Jonathan put the convertible's roof down, trusting that Ashimi had a plan.

"Sometimes the best defense is a good offense, that's what I've heard people say!" Ashimi released Squirtle from his pokeball. "Squirtle, I choose you, water gun!" Ashimi stood on her seat and pointed at the target, but Squirtle only squeaked in fright and ducked into his shell, shaking in fear. Left hanging, Ashimi looked at the water pokemon, his head, limbs and tail were all hidden inside his shell. "Squirtle?"

"Get down!" "Pi chu!" Jonathan and Pichu shouted at the same time. Ashimi dropped into her seat as a fireball flew above her where her head had been a split second before.

"She's really out to get us!" Ashimi peeked out from behind the backrest. The girl and her Houndour were relentless. "Squirtle, come out of your shell and fight! You're a water pokemon, you have the type advantage, why are you so afraid?" The little turtle gave no response, remaining inside his trembling shell. "Ugh, how did I end up with such a cowardly pokemon?"

"I don't know, but that girl is still on the attack." Jonathan dodged another fireball that passed by dangerously close. "The fires are spreading," the cries of fleeing pokemon could be heard. "If this keeps going, the fires might even reach the nearby cities."

"Hey!" Ashimi shouted at the girl chasing them. "Don't you care about collateral damage? Why are you attacking us anyway?"

"Team Rocket is the enemy and Giovanni's family is the head of team Rocket! If you want to kill a beast you have to cut off its head!" The girl angrily replied.

'It's not odd for the gym leaders and long time pokemon trainers to know me, but a regular civilian shouldn't recognize me.' Ashimi thought. "Who are you?"

"My name is Daala, but what matters is that I will be the one to end Giovanni's lineage! Houndour, show no mercy, flamethrower!"

"It's not like you've been showing any mercy so far," Ashimi grumbled as she nearly fell over, Jonathan had made another sharp turn to avoid an incoming attack. "Pichu, use thunderbolt!" The yellow pokemon did so, but Daala was a skilled driver and kept dodging his attacks while Houndour countered.

"Ashy, we have a problem!" Jonathan announced.

"No kidding!" Ashimi sarcastically replied before realizing he meant a problem other than a self-justified assassin hot on their trail. "What is it? Don't tell me we're running out of gas!"

"No, we have plenty of gas, but look ahead, those trees are packed together pretty tight. We can't get through in the car," Jonathan delivered the bad news. "We'll have to turn and she'll catch up to us. That's some motorcycle she has to have been keeping up this far."

"This has to end! Zubat, I choose you! Confuse those two with super sonic!" The Zubat flew towards Daala and her Houndour, flying circles around them and using his super sonic waves. Daala fought to stay focused while Houndour tried to knock the Zubat out of their way with his flames. "Go Furball! Rain dance!" The Meowth began to hop around on the car's trunk as if he was performing in a music video.

"Ashy, the roof is still down!" Jonathan grimaced at the clouds gathering above.

"Never mind, we'll send the car to the cleaners later!" Ashimi disregarded.

"I'm turning around!" Seeing as they couldn't go any further in a straight line because of the trees ahead, Jonathan turned the car around, sliding a little in the mud created by the effects of the rain dance. Fortunately, the state of the art traction of the indigo car was enough to allow them to turn and avoid a collision with the trees. Daala was not so lucky.

Dazed and confused by Zubat, Daala lost control of her motorcycle, sliding in the mud. The vehicle overturned, sending the driver and her pokemon flying. At least the mud around them created a soft enough landing so that no major injuries occurred. She thought her targets would take the opportunity to escape, but the indigo car was coming back around.

Before the Houndour could recover from the fall enough to go on the attack, Ashimi launched an attack of her own. "Furball, thunderbolt that Houndour, knock him out! Pichu, thunderbolt the motorcycle, aim for the fuel tank!"

Houndour fell unconscious and the motorcycle blew up. Daala glared at Ashimi, she recalled Houndour and prepared to call out another pokemon, but it was too late, the indigo car was speeding away and her mission had failed. Several things puzzled her. 'Why didn't they finish me off? I heard their car had homing missiles, why didn't they use them? Why didn't they wait for me to get close to the motorcycle before blowing it up? With the way Giovanni's granddaughter battled, she should have been smart enough to come up with a plan like that!' 

xoxox xox xoxox

"Ashy..." Jonathan and Ashimi were back on the road to Vermilion City. Things had somewhat calmed down, at least enough to actually be able to discuss the recent happenings without constantly worrying that something similar would suddenly happen at any given moment. The fire department had been notified and it looked like they had things under control.

The teen behind a wheel was giving his companion a very serious and disapproving look which caught her off guard. As a Rocket he was trained to handle dangerous situations, so she didn't think the chase would disturb him as much as his expression hinted. "Um... That was some amazing driving you did back there." Ashimi wouldn't be able to drive in public until she was sixteen, but she intended to apply for lessons at fourteen, and not only for cars.

The driving age for Rocket agents was fourteen, assuming that they actually passed the basic training to become agents. The training could be started at the age of twelve, but the youngest recruits they got, excluding those who came from Rocket parents, were usually already fifteen or sixteen. Jonathan had a head-start since his parents were both Rockets and prepared him to be one. By the time his fifteenth birthday came around, he could already drive more than just a car.

Jonathan showed no reaction for the compliment and continued frowning. "The interiors are ruined..." He lamented the state of the car. "You just had to step all over the seat with your shoes on, then make it rain." His expression turned so sad that for a moment Ashimi thought he was going to cry.

"You scratched up the lower part of the bumper before you managed to switch to all terrain mode," Ashimi countered, though she knew it wasn't true. It would take a lot more than a few small rocks and bushes to damage the car's tough armor. The color and gloss was integrated into the material itself so that scratches would have to be very deep to be clearly noticeable. The car's fine interiors were not quite as resistant, especially the plush, ergonomic, designer's seats. "Hey, it's okay, we'll go to the cleaners and the car will be as good as new."

Jonathan sighed sadly in lamentation. He liked moving vehicles, a passion he developed while looking through the schematics of all the vehicles his parents had employed in their hunt for Ash's Pikachu in the past. "Okay," he finally voiced, like a child being promised a lollipop in consolation for a scratched knee.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 4: I always thought Sabrina as a powerful and mysterious psychic would be so cool. She was already powerful in the anime, I just had to add more of an air of dark mystery. Let's not forget, this Sabrina is a lot older than the one in the anime, so her powers have grown a lot since then. Nyarth is Meowth's Japanese name. The idea of Purrloin was inspired by a fanart made by Nafa-tali that featured Delia holding a shiny Purrloin. The one is this story is a different one though and has a different background (and fur color).

Chapter 5: Sabrina hasn't entirely lost the sense of humor she developed after meeting Ash in the first season of the anime. I wanted to show that even with all the mystery and power, she still has a fun side to her and was probably getting a good laugh out of picking on Dorme.

Chapter 6: Daala was in part inspired by Darius Scouter from the amazing Blessed Defiance, the second story in the main Giovanni Chronicles series. Darius may not be the nicest guy, but he is a very well written and developed character with a detailed personality, motivations and thought process. The Giovanni Chronicles have an artfully created supporting cast, all the characters feel very complete and distinct. I highly recommend you read the whole series, (or listen to it as I did), I guarantee you'll enjoy it!

xoxox xox xoxox

Characters

Dorme: Domino's 14 year old daughter who has a big crush on Johnny. She has wavy pale blond hair and violet eyes. She travels through Kanto as a Rocket agent and often runs into Johnny and Ashimi. She is jealous of all the attention Johnny gives Ashimi and often tries to separate him from her.

Daala: A 15 year old girl from Johto, who now roams the Kanto region, dishing out her own brand of justice as a sort of mask-less vigilante. She has dark skin, honey eyes and black curly hair in pigtails, with two blonde curls framing her face. She doesn't like Team Rocket and knows Ashimi is the granddaughter of its leader...


	3. Part 3

Awakening

Chapter 7: Tower

Upon their arrival at Vermilion City, Ashimi requested, "let's stop at the pokemon center. I think I got some mud from when you made that sudden turn."

"Me too... And it was your fault the mud was there to begin with." Jonathan reminded in a joking tone. He wasn't upset about the terrible crime of messing up such a great car anymore, as he had convinced himself that it could be fixed.

After a quick stop at the pokemon center to get themselves cleaned up, Jonathan announced that he was going to have the car cleaned. He would be content watching it and examining any other cool cars that might be in the establishment, but he knew cars only interested Ashimi when they were moving fast. It was the speed itself she loved more so than the means to achieve it. She'd probably get bored watching cars being washed and polished.

The redhead nodded and considered her options for a moment before coming to a choice. "I think I'll have a look around the city and maybe find someone to battle with before heading to the gym."

"Okay, see you later," thus they went their separate ways, with Jonathan heading to the carwash and Ashimi going off on foot to search for possible challengers. 

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi headed to the Vermilion plaza, where she heard the sounds of a pokemon battle. Two boys around her age had just finished their match. It was Pidgey versus Rattata and the Pidgey won. However, the rodent had put up a good fight and the bird seemed tired. Ashimi made her way through the crowd of kids and teenagers as it began to disperse. "I want to battle too!" She announced.

The boy with the Rattata didn't turn back, assuming the victor was the one being addressed. The boy with the Pidgey shook his head. "Some other time, I don't think Pidgey can take another round right now," he admitted.

"Oh... Okay..." Ashimi realized that the boys didn't really keep more than one pokemon. Though they could battle, they were more so pets, probably not as strong as pokemon that battled more often and were specifically trained to be effective fighters. After the boys had both left and the crowd dispersed, as no challengers stepped up right away, a little boy approached Ashimi.

"Hello," the boy greeted. He was dressed a little oddly with a trench coat, a hat and big sunglasses.

Ashimi giggled, "hey kid, are you playing secret agent?"

The boy smiled, "yup! I'm going to be a secret agent and a pokemon trainer when I grow up. You're a pokemon trainer on a journey, aren't you? I want to go on a journey some day too!"

Ashimi guessed that the boy was around five, it would still be a few years until he could challenge any gyms, but maybe he could keep a pokemon as a pet and train it to get ahead of the game. "Do you have any pokemon?"

"Not yet," the boy replied. "But your pokemon looks super cool! Can I pet him? Please!"

Ashimi laughed, feeling a bit like a celebrity. Though her father had only taken his place as champion behind the elite four on a few occasions, it was enough for him to sometimes be recognized and for kids to ask him about pokemon training and even for his autograph. "What do you say, Pichu?" Pichu hopped into the boy's arms, amused by how enthusiastic Ashimi's new friend was. "What's your name?"

"Zero," the boy replied as he petted the little Pichu.

"I'm Ashimi," she automatically introduced herself with her nickname, not giving it any further thought.

"Your Pichu is awesome, miss Ashimi," Zero complimented. "Do you have more pokemon? Can I see them?"

"Sure!" Ashimi let Furball and Zubat out of their pokeballs. After some deliberation she let Squirtle out too. The little turtle looked around a bit scared, but seeing as there didn't seem to be a battle going on, he calmed down. Ashimi decided not to let Clefable out, least the pink pokemon embarrass her with her usual disrespect.

"Wow! So many pokemon, you must be an amazing trainer!" Zero exclaimed.

"Kind of," Ashimi feigned modesty.

"Can you show me what they can do? Pretty please?" Zero pleaded in a cute childish voice.

"No problem, prepare to be amazed!" Ashimi began to show off some of her pokemon's best traits, such as Zubat's speed, Furball's mastery of various elements and for Squirtle, she just had him retreat into his shell and pretended it was an advanced defensive maneuver that made him almost invincible. 

While Ashimi coordinated the three pokemon, Zero offered Pichu some candy. Without any suspicion, the yellow pokemon ate it and felt very sleepy. A small crowd gathered to see the performance, clapping by the time Ashimi's improvised show was almost done. She intended to show off Pichu's power at the end, using his thunderbolt to simulate fireworks, but when she looked for Zero she didn't find him. 

Assuming the show was over, the crowd dispersed and Zero remained missing. "Pichu?" Ashimi called out in disbelief. Her phone suddenly played the sound of an incoming text message and she looked at it. "I have your Pichu," the message read. "Meet me at the main Silph building in Saffon City if you want him back. Don't tell anyone, or I can't guarantee Pichu's safety." Ashimi looked around wildly, her eyes wide in shock. "This can't be happening!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, causing several passer-bys to stare at her oddly. She recalled her other pokemon into their pokeballs and began to run. 

'My father spent years traveling around with Pikachu, defending him from experienced kidnappers and here my Pichu gets stolen by a kid! What an embarrassment!' With her thoughts racing, Ashimi rushed to the outskirts of the city. 'Silph is controlled by Team Rocket, if I can't get my Pichu back unnoticed, what will grandpa say? He's going to be so disappointed! Why didn't Pichu defend himself? Was he sedated or something? How did I not notice? Maybe if I hurry I can still catch up!' At least, she was in good shape from all the swimming she did. 

When Ashimi reached the outskirts of the city, several realizations hit her beyond the haze of the panic. How did the kid know what number to text and why did he challenge her to chase him instead of just running off with Pichu and keeping quiet? "He can't be working alone," she concluded. If the little boy was working for someone else, that someone possibly had a car or some form of fast transportation and no matter how fast she ran, she wasn't going to catch them on foot. As for knowing her number, it had to be someone who had been watching her, someone who had a motivation to watch her. "Daala!" Ashimi gasped. "That little brat must have been Daala's lackey... When I get my hands on them!" She growled angrily. "Note to self, catch a flying pokemon big enough to ride." But for the time being she would have to work with what she had, "taxi!"

xoxox xox xoxox

Night fell over Saffron City and a storm settled in. Ashimi had texted Jonathan telling him that she had some stuff to do and would call him when she was done and ready to go to the Vermilion gym. He had been curious about what her business was, but Ashimi silenced him by saying it was girl stuff he wouldn't understand, though she wasn't even sure what that meant herself. 

The taxi pulled over next to the Silph headquarters, which was closed for renovations. The driver whistled, "this is some storm." Lightning flashed across the distant sky and light rain began to fall. "Are you sure this is where you should be, kid?" The taxi driver didn't know who she really was or why she was there. "I thought this place was empty."

"Mostly," Ashimi made up an excuse. "My father is part of the renovation team, I'm going to meet him here." She paid the bill and the driver didn't question her any further. She exited the taxi and went around the building, searching for a way in.

"Welcome..." The back door opened on its own, controlled by the electronics integrated into the whole building. The voice coming from the telecom next to the door belong to that little boy from before, Zero. 

Since the building was filled with surveillance cameras and audio detectors, Ashimi new she was being watched. How Daala and her allies managed to take over the building was something she didn't understand. "Where's your leader?"

"My leader?" The boy chuckled. "In the same place where your leader is."

Ashimi crossed her arms, displeased with what she interpreted to be meant as a rude remark, yet it was quite literal. "Where's Daala? She has Pichu, doesn't she?"

"I don't know who you speak of." The Silph building was dim and empty, the voice being projected echoing from everywhere and nowhere.

Ashimi's heart pounded, this was worse than when she faced Sabrina, this time Pichu could be... killed... "Where's my Pichu?!" Ashimi demanded to know.

The boy chuckled again. "He's here, at the top of this building. Come and get him if you dare!"

Of course she dared. Ashimi rushed towards the elevator doors that opened as if inviting her in, then she stopped. If the boy or whoever was with him was controlling the building from its main computer system, it wouldn't be a very smart move to jump into the elevator. She backed away then looked around for the stairs. She dashed towards the door behind which the emergency stairs awaited and tried to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge. Without wasting any time, Ashimi called out Furball. "Furball, cut this door down!" The Meowth exposed his claws, slashing at the wooden door, he kept cutting deeper until the door was no longer an obstacle. 

"Stay on your guard." Ashimi looked at the spiraling stairs before her. The lamps were on but only dimly. There was at least more light than in the lobby, but not by much. The girl and her feline companion rushed up the stairs, then suddenly the stairs went flat and they slid down. "This won't stop us!" Furball jumped up on the metal banister and Ashimi held on to it to pull herself up. They made a lot of progress until the lights went out completely. 

An odd sound was heard and Ashimi had a bad feeling. Furball hissed and the area was lit up by his thunderbolt. The object that had been rolling towards Ashimi, a wooden barrel, was broken open, spilling a multitude of pokeballs. "Woah!" Ashimi climbed onto the banister, stretching her body on it and wrapping her knees around it. "Okay... This is just like playing on a messed up jungle gym... Furball, you can see in the dark, right?" The feline made a sound of affirmation, his eyes glowing in the darkness. "Use a little spark, I'll follow that light." The golden coin on Furballs' forehead reflected the light as his whiskers moved in the static of the electricity. Ashimi followed him for a while, occasionally hearing more rolling barrels go by.

The banister abruptly became electrified, causing the Meowth and the girl to fall off it and slide down. Another rolling barrel was heard and Furball broke it. Once again it spilled pokeballs in its path, which made it even harder for them to stay on their feet, but it would have been worse if they were hit by the barrel. The banister remained electrified, so Ashimi couldn't use it to hold on to. "Someone has to be throwing those barrels from the top of the stairs. Go Zubat! Take Furball with you and stop whoever is throwing those barrels. Zubat, screech and create a diversion, Furball, since whoever is moving those barrels must be pretty strong, use a water pulse first, then a thunderbolt to make it more effective." Ashimi recalled Furball into his pokeball so Zubat would be able to carry him. 

Taking the pokeball along, Zubat flew up the spiral of stairs to the top and released Furball there. They found a Machop had been throwing the barrels, but not for long! While the Machop was distracted by Zubat, Furball emerged from his pokeball and used water pulse. The Machop turned his attention away from the loudly screeching Zubat, but he was too slow. Furball was already charged up to attack and released a thunderbolt without delay. The Machop guard was knocked out instantly. 

Ashimi grinned as she heard the sounds from above. Since she couldn't use the electrified banister as support and the flattened stairs were too slippery to stand on, she resorted to crawling her way up. It was slow, but at least she was getting somewhere. Once she reached the top of the stairs, light filtered in from the door leading to the rest of the floor. She saw the fainted Machop and commended her pokemon on a job well done. This wasn't the top of the building though. The spiraling stairs only went so far, since the higher levels were restricted. They shouldn't be closed up too tightly at the moment, because the building was being renovated and operations had been temporarily moved, but she would have to make her way to a different set of emergency stairs. 

Ashimi opened the door to the next set of stairs, finding it unlocked, these stairs had a square winding style to them, instead of spiraling. She found the unlocked door to be very suspicious and held out an empty pokeball. She threw it and it collided with the wall, setting off several sensors as it moved through the air. Knives became embedded on the walls of the staircase, a deadly security measure. In the quiet of the night, the soft clicks of a reloading mechanism were heard. "I don't think I have enough things to throw to activate all the knives and who knows how many there are." After trying to think of a way to obtain safe passage, she released Squirtle. 

Squirtle didn't like the eerie silent atmosphere and whimpered, his eyes watering. "It's okay Squirtle, this is the night when you learn to be brave!" Ashimi coaxed. The small turtle gave her a doubtful look. "This will be really simple, all you have to do is tug your head, arms, legs and tail into your shell and stay very still. Whatever you do, don't peek out, especially if you feel tapping on your shell, in fact, no matter what kind of conversation you hear, stay in your shell. When it's okay to come out, the password will be Pecha berry." The Squirtle looked visibly relieved. He wasn't sure about how useful this training exercise really was, but it sounded very easy. This was his chance to prove himself, so he eagerly did as he was told, assuming it was some kind of test of obedience. 

"Okay..." Ashimi picked up Squirtle like a shield. "Furball, get on my back, Zubat, on my shoulder. I want you two to work together. Furball, try to see through the darkness for any marks on the walls. Zubat, use your super sonic waves to try to feel where the mechanism is hidden, just make sure you don't hit us with them. And Squirtle, no matter what, stay inside your shell until I say the password to come out. Here we go." Ashimi walked slowly and cautiously, crouching and shielding herself and her other pokemon with Squirtle's hard shell as much as she could. Zubat pointed at a spot on the wall and Furball squinted at it and nodded. "Where else?" Ashimi asked in a whisper. 

The bat and the cat repeated their examination until they could pin point the location of the nearest series of attack mechanisms. "Furball, aim for the sensors and thunderbolt fry their circuits." Taking care not to shock his trainer, Furball released his electric power towards the trap. "Zubat, what do you sense?" Zubat gave a soft screech of alarm. "As I thought, the traps are too strong to be so easily disabled. The building's renovations are not finished, but they have some pretty good security in place. It looks like the traps only activate when the sensors pick up solid matter, so energy won't trigger them. Okay, I trust you were able to figure out the pattern, let's do this!" 

Dashing forward, Ashimi held Squirtle's shell to her upper right and the knives shot from the wall bounced off it. Then she lowered it to her left, to the middle right, lower left, upper left, lower right and she pressed herself against the next door. No traps were triggering, it looked like the space between floors next to the door that led to each floor was safe. "Next round..." Thus it happened, as they went from one floor to another in the upper levels of Silph. They reached the final stretch at last, then Zubat let out a screech of alarm with more urgency than before. Furball used a small thunderbolt, not against the traps, as it wouldn't work, but to point out their location and light the way for Ashimi. "Above?!" Ashimi held the shell overhead and dashed forward, crashing into the door ahead in her haste and pushing it open.

Ashimi took a deep breath and looked over her pokemon. They were all alright. "We made it... Pecha berry." Squirtle came out looking confused and a little dizzy. "You did really well, Squirtle." She patted his head softly. "Get some rest in your pokeball now." She glanced at his shell briefly before recalling him and made a mental note to have the scratches polished off at the pokemon center and have a coat of hardening varnish added just in case. "Zubat, Furball, great team work back there, you were amazing." She hugged them, then placed them on her back and shoulder respectively. "There's no telling what lies ahead, so be on your guard."

Ashimi walked across the dark lobby-like area. She couldn't hear it at the enclosed, reinforced structure of the emergency stairs, but now the sound of the rain invaded her senses as it pounded against the glass windows. The wind had picked up too and thunder rumbled in the distance, becoming ever closer. The room was in an obvious state of renovations with paint buckets in the corners and large rolls of carpeting laying around. She looked at the large door at the end of the room. It was the door to the control center, the most highly secured room in the whole building. She approached the door and it opened by itself. 

Inside the control room she found Pichu happily devouring a slice of extra cheese and pepperoni pizza while Zero spun around on one of the swivel chairs in simple amusement. He was still wearing his big sunglasses despite it being nighttime, though he wasn't wearing his vintage movie detective disguise. His hair was blue with orange stripes and he wore a black armor suit with red boots, belt and armbands... and a red R on the chest. 

"Pichu!" The little yellow pokemon happily waved his trainer over and motioned towards the large pizza box near by, as if offering her and his fellow pokemon slices. 

The screen behind them was the most perplexing part of the scene, as it showed a familiar woman with blue hair and dark eyes, wearing a familiar black uniform with a very familiar red R. The Rocket who went by the codename Pixel appeared alongside two of her pokemon, Prism, a Porygon-Z and Peachy, a Pikachu, who so happened to be the mother of Ashimi's Pichu. "Ashimi, hi! How nice of you to join us!" Pixel greeted casually. "I thank you for your assistance in helping me test the security system's installation process."

"You... what?" Ashimi blinked in confusion. "What's going on? Wasn't Pichu kidnapped? Is this kid a Rocket agent? But he's so young, I thought Team Rocket wouldn't allow anyone to become an agent at the age of five."

"I'm not five," Zero corrected. 

"Oh? You're a midget then?" Ashimi grumbled at the interruption, she was talking to Pixel, not him.

"I'm two," Zero finished.

"That's impossible! You can't be two years old!" Ashimi shouted, her patience drained.

"Nope, he's two months old," Pixel's words left Ashimi more confused than ever.

"Zero is not a human, but not quite a pokemon either. He was made and materialized using a program similar to that of Porygon with an enhanced high definition graphics engine that better reflects the current era. His AI was created from the combined brain scans of two humans. He is essentially a prototype virtual android. Unfortunately, since the graphics and human persona take up so many resources, he doesn't have any sort of special powers like a virtual pokemon would. He was made as an experiment for research purposes, but the tech department no longer requires him to stick around... So I'm letting you borrow him for a while. Well, have fun, bye!" Peachy said her goodbyes in turn with her trainer and the screen went black.

"Did grandpa tell her to do this?" Ashimi wondered aloud. "Or did Pixel act of her own accord? Nah, this has to be some random test. Well, since I got to the top of the building I guess that means I passed, and hopefully that will make up for losing Pichu in the first place, right?" She didn't wait for a reply, "right!" She glanced at Furball and Zubat, who had gotten settled in along with Pichu, enjoying slices of pizza. She let Squirtle out, he deserved a snack for his efforts too. While the pokemon ate, Ashimi directed her attention to Zero. "Okay, your mission is done, so now you can be a good little virtual android and behave."

Zero stuck out his tongue. " I'll do what I want!" Zero spun around on the chair laughing and Ashimi fumed. 

"Stop it!" She scolded, holding the chair in place. "Listen up, you little brat, and pay attention!" She snatched the sunglasses he was wearing, even if he was probably perfectly capable of seeing everything around him in high definition with them on anyway. Then she saw his eyes for the first time. He had no pupils, or maybe he had no irises. The big glassy orbs looked like the eyes of an anime doll, the circles filled with shades of color in a gradient that was black at the bottom and blue at the top. She gasped then squealed in delight, "look at that high definition! Your face; it's amazing!" The next thing Zero knew, he was being squished into a big bear hug.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 8: Thunder and Rockets

After things were more or less resolved between Zero and Ashimi, they managed to track down an umbrella in the building and intended to leave Silph and spend the rest of the night at the pokemon center, where they had proper beds. Zero didn't mind as long as he had a quiet corner to sit and run his debugging programs and an electric outlet to stick a straw into and feed. He could eat normal food, but he did so for the taste rather than for the energy. He actually wasted energy disintegrating the food once it was in his mouth, as his body had no use for it. Ashimi was very much looking forward to getting a good night's sleep. 

When they reached the front exit, no one was out in that weather so no one would see them anyway, Zero paused as if remembering something, then approached the elevator and pressed the button to call it. The doors opened and out crawled a light green haired boy with oddly colored eyes, one being brown and the other being somewhat pink due to lack of pigmentation, though they were still very much human eyes and elicited no special reactions from Ashimi. 

The fifteen year old boy dizzily stood up, using the wall for support while Ashimi watched on with questioning eyes. Zero turned towards her and pointed back at the teenager with his thumb. "He followed you here muttering something about becoming the future boss' right hand man. That was when you were battling it out with the stairs. He was actually stupid enough to take the elevator, so I trapped him in and kept the elevator going up and down really fast this whole time."

Ashimi observed that the teenager was wearing a Rocket uniform. He dizzily looked towards her and saluted, or tried to. His hand flew over his head on the first attempt, then collided with his nose on the second, before he finally gave up and just held on to the wall. "I'm here to assist you, Madame Ashimi, loyal as always!"

Ashimi tilted her head in confusion, "do I know you?"

"You don't remember?" The green haired boy looked hurt.

"Of course I know you..." Ashimi tried to come up with a name that matched the face, but she wasn't quite sure. "You're Vincent, right?"

"That's not my name," the boy frowned.

"According to my data his name is... That's odd, I have two entries for that. Is it Cecil or Bartz?" Zero inquired.

"No and no!" The teenager pouted.

"Oh well," Ashimi shrugged. "I don't want any help anyway, I have to go through my pokemon journey my own way. Transportation is okay, but that's just about it and I already have Johnny to take care of that. See you around... um... Squall." She yawned, "let's go to the pokemon center, I want to get some sleep already." Her pokemon were already sleeping in their pokeballs, save for Pichu, who was sleeping on her head. "C'mon Zero, get under the umbrella."

"I'm not going to catch a cold..." Zero reminded.

"It doesn't matter, friends share their umbrellas," Ashimi stated. Zero shrugged, not questioning her logic any further and they both left.

The green haired teenager was left standing there looking frustrated, his name wasn't Squall either. "Jonathan..." He growled the name of his most hated rival.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, at Vermilion City, after spending the day making sure that by some twist of fate the carwash employees wouldn't discover the lethal customizations of the car, Jonathan was, for once in his life, ready to stop paying attention to vehicles. He locked the secrets away and set the car's system to blend in, so unless they looked under the hood they wouldn't know and that was locked too, but he was still uneasy, so he had been with the car the whole time. The employees assumed he was just a kid who took his father's car for a joyride and wanted to make sure it was fixed and returned in secret. At least the interiors were as good as new and he had the rest of the night to himself. He wasn't sure what Ashimi's business was that guys wouldn't understand, but perhaps his confusion was all the proof he needed that he would indeed be unable to comprehend whatever it was. Ashimi was a bit of a tomboy most of the time and despite occasionally calling her princess, Jonathan did at times forget that she was a member of the ever perplexing female species.

A storm was hitting Vermilion City harshly and Jonathan considered spending the night at the pokemon center resting. But it was about time to send the boss something good, and if Ashimi returned in the morning wanting to rush towards the gym, he wouldn't have much time to do anything big if he waited. He scanned Vermilion City's official website looking for ideas. The weather report was linked to the front page, which was not surprising given how fierce it was, people would want to know when the storm was expected to pass. The large group of clouds reached all the way to Saffron City, though the storm was still relatively gentle there. Vermilion City was definitely getting the worst of it and people were advised to stay indoors. Ignoring the warning, Jonathan continued examining the website. 

After looking through a few pages featuring upcoming activities, holidays and advertisements for the local commerce, he found that there would be an exhibition on a newly remodeled museum not too far from the pokemon center. Fossils had become rarer as time went by and the few that were preserved were already dug up. He had heard stories about how one of Team Rocket's past rivals, Team Plasma, was said to have revived a fossil pokemon originally from Kanto and upgraded it to a whole new level. Rare pokemon fossils were classic valuables that he knew would always be welcomed into Giovanni's collection, so it would be a good idea to steal them.

With that plan in mind, Jonathan put on his Team Rocket uniform and snuck out of the pokemon center through the window... And got soaked to the bone. It was a short run to the museum, but picking the lock with the rain beating down on him so harshly, took longer than he thought. At last he let himself in through the back door and tried to wipe away some of the rain water from his face. "Should have brought an umbrella..." 

He moved forward, leaving little puddles of water where he stepped. His uniform this time was black, though he also had a white version he used during the day when dark colors wouldn't make much of a difference in blending in. Yet the bright red R on his chest would still let everyone know what organization was responsible. It didn't do much to help Ashimi turn the public opinion around about Team Rocket in the future, but for the time being there was the present to think about and Jonathan had his duties as a Rocket to fulfill.

He reached the main exhibit room, which had two doorways on the sides, and there he found a figure stuffing the main fossil, a kabuto, into a sack. The person looked ready to get away until the lights suddenly came on. Jonathan ducked at the entrance to the room and observed quietly. The person with the sack was Daala. "Hold it right there!" A blond boy wearing military style clothes called out, he had been the one to turn on the lights from the opposite side of the room.

Daala looked at the new arrival, neither she nor he had noticed Jonathan. "You..." She glared, "you're the gym leader."

"That's right, I'm gym leader Volt and I won't let you steal the fossil!" The blond declared, his teal eyes glaring. 

"You fool!" Daala chided. "The Vermilion mayor intends to gift this fossil to Giovanni in exchange for favors from Team Rocket!"

"Johnny?" The sudden whisper in his ear and the warm breath on his neck made Jonathan jump in surprise and nearly yelp.

Fortunately, he swallowed the sound on time and managed to remain quiet. "Dorme, what are you doing here?" She was also in her Team Rocket uniform. He blinked, taking note of a peculiar fact. "How are you dry?"

"I had a raincoat," Dorme pointed at the discarded wet plastic garment a few feet away. "Are you here to steal the fossil?"

"Yes, but Daala, that girl with the sack, stole it first. She said the mayor was going to give it to Giovanni," Jonathan quietly explained.

"That's true, but the boss doesn't want it like that. He wants that guy out of the race and if he can't even guard the exhibit, that will make people think less of him. Volt wasn't a part of this plan." Dorme shook her head. "I don't know how you know Daala, but I've been keeping tabs on her and another suspicious individual. They appear to be working separately, Daala seems to be on her own. I dropped some information about the fossils and here she is. I was going to let her get caught by the cameras, maybe chased by the local Jenny, then take the fossil for the boss."

"I was just going to steal it..." Jonathan admitted. He was curious about the other suspicious person Dorme mentioned, but the arguments and noises from the exhibit room became more intense and caught his attention. Daala and Volt were battling. 

"Let's see if Volt is as tough as his brother..." It was clear that Dorme intended to let the battle continue without interruptions. 

"Brother?" Jonathan felt somewhat out of the loop. He knew Surge had two sons, but other than the youngest being gym leader Volt, he didn't know anything about the oldest.

"Thor," Dorme spat the word out like venom between clenched teeth.

"Thor? As in General Electro? That's Surge's elder son?" Jonathan did not have pleasant memories of the man. He had never spoken about his family or about anything at all that was even remotely personal. "Everyone just assumes he's a Rocket experiment gone wrong or some sort of angry deity. It's hard to believe that man was actually born from human parents."

"I know what you mean. He's the head of the Rocket military, the most feared Rocket agent trainer in the whole organization. Last summer was hell," Dorme shuddered.

"At least you didn't get stuck with the winter training. Worse two months of my life," Jonathan got nightmares to even think about it. "A bunch of us got fed up with his overly critical attitude and tried to teach him a lesson. There were at least twenty of us between fourteen and twenty years old and he somehow managed to beat us all like it was nothing! I've never been so sore in my life, even my bruises had bruises."

Dorme could feel identified with the experience. "Do you have any idea how many times I had to practice kicking? My feet hurt so much I could barely walk. The rumors say that Thor and Volt don't get along and that Volt is on the fence about Team Rocket, while Thor is all too happy to lead the military. None the less, Volt respects his father a lot." 

After their brief conversation, Dorme and Jonathan grew silent, instead focusing on the battle going on between Daala and Volt. Daala had called out her Houndour, while Volt commanded a Raichu. Unlike Surge's Raichu from years prior, Volt's Raichu had been trained for speed as a Pikachu and only just recently evolved. "Raichu, use thunderbolt!"

"Houndour, counter attack with flamethrower! " Daala commanded. The fire and lightning collided, but the electricity broke through the flames, reaching the target. "Houndour!" Attacking from a distance wouldn't work. "Get close and bite him!"

"Evasive maneuvers, Raichu, quick attack!" Raichu sped out of the way as Houndour dashed towards him on the offensive. Moving very fast, the electric pokemon collided with the fire dog from the side, knocking him to the floor.

"Houndour, bite him, quick!" Daala voiced, but it was too late. 

"Raichu, Thunder!" The electricity surrounded Houndour, leaving him paralyzed. "Finish him with brick break!"

Seeing as there was no hope in this battle, Daala quickly recalled her pokemon. "Houndour, return!" The Raichu's strike collided against the floor, breaking the tiles. "I'm not finished yet, go Donphan! Roll up and bulldoze that Raichu!" Being a ground type, Donphan was protected from Raichu's electric attacks and he had though armor against his physical attacks. Donphan rolled towards Raichu, who put everything he had into quickly evading.

"Keep moving, Raichu, don't stay still!" Forced to be on the defensive, Volt couldn't see any opportunities to strike.

"It looks like the battle is turning around, wouldn't you say, Johnny?" Dorme turned to look at her fellow Rocket, only to realize that he was no longer next to her. She looked around for him and spotted him quietly making his way over to the sack with the fossil, hiding behind several displays and information panels. 

While Daala and Volt were focused on their battle, Johnny grabbed the sack and quietly made his escape. It looked like he was going to make it back to Dorme unnoticed, until the effects of running around in a wet uniform caught up to him and he sneezed very loudly. He quickly dropped behind one of the displays, but knew he wouldn't be able to remained unnoticed for long. Alerted by the sound that didn't belong, Daala and Volt began to look around. Their eyes were immediately drawn to the source of the sound in Jonathan's direction. He wasn't visible from their angle, but it was obvious that there was enough room for someone to be hiding there.

"Achoo!" Dorme loudly faked a sneeze, jumping out of the doorway. She held her raincoat bundled up in her arms as if hiding something, though it was actually empty. "Oops... bye!" She attempted to make a hasty escape as if she had the fossil with her, but Daala and Volt wouldn't let her go that easily.

"Donphan, stop her!" At Daala's command, Donphan changed course and rolled towards Dorme. 

"Raichu, catch her first!" Raichu dashed forward, stepping in front of Dorme. At the same time, Donphan came up from behind and tripped her up, rolling on top of her. Raichu got caught under Dorme and was flattened under Donphan's weight as well. 

"Ow..." was all Dorme could say. As she fell she had dropped the raincoat in front of her, right on Donphan's path, and the heavy pokemon had rolled over it.

"You destroyed the fossil!" Volt rushed to examine the discarded raincoat, blaming Daala's pokemon for the incident. However, when he looked at the raincoat, he realized it was empty. "It's... not here..."

A bright light from the other side of the exhibit's main room caught Daala and Volt's attention. Behind a curtain of fire a figure could be seen holding something. "Is this what you're looking for?" Jonathan asked in an exaggerated fierce voice , knowing they couldn't see him clearly enough behind the fire to be able to recognize him later. Daala most likely already knew him, as she knew Ashimi, but he didn't want Volt to know he had been involved in the fossil theft later when he tagged along with Ashimi for her gym battle. He turned around and began to walk, with Foxtrot creating more fire effects on his way. Once the fire was enough to cover their escape, they made a run for it. Hopefully, they would leave Dorme alone and chase after him, since he had the fossil.

"Ow... Walking through the fire like a video game villain... That's so hot..." Dorme meant it both literally and metaphorically, plus Jonathan didn't abandon her. Granted, she had done the same thing for him first, but she was still happy he would help her escape by providing a distraction.

"Donphan, after him!" Daala commanded. Seeing as there was someone standing there moments prior, Donphan assumed that the curtain of fire was very thin and he could roll through it with some help from his defense curl and if he caught a bit of the fire, it would be put out so quickly he wouldn't even feel it. The elephant pokemon didn't realize that the Flareon had added more fire to the hallway beyond the first series of flames, closing off the route so that they couldn't be followed. 

"Raichu, thunderbolt them before they get too far!" Volt urged. Donphan rushed forward into the fire while Raichu ran to get closer to the hall to try to get a shot at the retreating thief. 

While the others were distracted, Dorme slowly got on her feet and called out a pokemon. "Hitmonlee..." The pokemon kicked the air energetically, ready for a battle. The command that his trainer gave him, was not what the fighter was expecting. "Carry me..."

Finding more fire than he could handle, Donphan rolled back the way he came, covered in flames. Raichu didn't expect the ground pokemon to go on the retreat and was caught off guard with Donphan running over him and leaving some of his flames on the electric mouse. Raichu panicked just as much as Donphan was and started rolling around the floor much like Donphan. The two pokemon were focused on putting out the flames and not paying attention to each other or their trainers. Just as the flames on the pokemon were put out, Donphan ran into Raichu, Raichu automatically released an electric attack and they knocked each other out. 

Though the pokemon were safe from the fire the museum wasn't. The fire had spread over the room, leaving only a small space to escape through on the other side. Coughing from the smoke, Daala and Volt recalled their respective pokemon and rushed to get out of the building. They saw no sign of the Rocket girl who had served as a decoy. Outside, the rain had stopped and Daala wasted no time in throwing a pokeball high with the skill of a big league pitcher. The ball landed on the ceiling of the shop next to the museum and a large pokemon emerged from it. 

Just as Volt was about to stop Daala, officer Jenny called out to him, arriving at the scene on her motorcycle. The fire department got there as well and they quickly got to work on putting the fire out. In that small moment of distraction, the large pokemon that had been released on the ceiling extended a pair of vine whips and lifted Daala onto the ceiling as well. She recalled the grass type and ran, jumping from one roof top to another. "Come back here!" Volt shouted after her.

"Volt! What happened here?" Jenny demanded to know.

Volt frowned, even if he managed to catch that girl, she wasn't the one who got away with the fossil in the end. There was no sign of the real thief, whom he assumed to be a Rocket, as the girl who created a diversion was wearing their uniform. They were both gone, the fossil was lost. "Team Rocket..." He growled at Jenny, "it was Team Rocket."

Hidden on the rooftop of the building across the street, Jonathan and Dorme watched the scene unfold. "Looks like everything worked out in the end... Sort of..."

"Speak for yourself..." Dorme grumbled, rubbing her sore back. "Hitmonlee, you really have to learn to give those massages were the therapist walks all over the patient's back. I could use one of those right about now," she breathe. "About that fossil..." She eyed the bag with the prize.

"I thought you might bring that up... I was kind of planning to run off with it," Jonathan admitted, then added, "until I messed up by... ah... achoo!" He sniffled and continued. "I guess I owe you one, so it's yours."

Dorme snatched the sack away and looked inside. "I'm no archeologist, but this thing looks pretty valuable, the boss will be pleased. I guess I could mention you helped me get it so he doesn't think you're slacking off too much. We make a pretty good," she was interrupted by his sneeze, "team..."

"I guess so... But right now I only one to team up with a soft pillow, this cold is making fast progress." Jonathan looked at the horizon where the first few rays of the sun were barely beginning to peek out. "If Ashimi decides to go to the gym in the morning, it's going to be a long day." He began to make his way down from the roof, before it became too bright for it to be an effective hiding place. 

"Ashimi..." Dorme paused, unsure if she should say anything.

"What is it?" Jonathan inquired. 

His curiosity was on her and Dorme knew that she wouldn't be able to take it back now. "Yesterday at the plaza, some kid stole Ashimi's Pichu and she ran off in a panic like a crazy person. I tried to follow the boy, but he slipped away and before I knew it, I lost track of her too."

"Ashimi is... achoo! In trouble?" Jonathan coughed. "Why didn't you say so? I have to find her!" He tried calling Ashimi's cellphone, but by that time, the situation at Silph was resolved and Ashimi was sleeping at the pokemon center with her phone on silent. "There's no answer, but her phone's GPS says she's in Saffron, why did she go back there?" Not waiting for a reply, or even expecting one, Jonathan hurried towards the parking lot behind the pokemon center where he had left the car.

Dorme frowned as she watched him go. "Me and my big mouth..."

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 9: Fiery Spirit

Jonathan stopped in front of the pokemon center at Saffron City. Ashimi's cellphone GPS was still located there, she hadn't moved the whole time. He parked the car and got out, he wasn't in such a rush anymore, as he figured Ashimi had to be okay if she was still at the pokemon center after all that time. Surely she had recovered Pichu, or else she would still be, as Dorme said, running like a crazy person, looking for him. She wouldn't have lost her cellphone, right? Who in their right mind goes anywhere without their phone? He had the sense to throw on a jacket to cover his uniform's red R before walking into the pokemon center.

"Welcome... Oh dear..." the resident Joy walked around the counter and placed her hand on Jonathan's forehead. "You have a fever, you should be going to a human doctor instead of coming here," she scolded.

"It's not that bad," Jonathan assured. He knew he always looked a mess when he caught a cold and being short of sleep didn't help, but it's not like he was dying or anything.

"Johnny?" Ashimi cheerfully came from the guest area, with Pichu on her head, followed by Zero. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, he's a friend of yours?" Joy interjected. "You should get him to a doctor!"

"No worries, I'll take care of him!" Ashimi grabbed his arm to make him hurry out, away from the nosy Joy. Once outside, she asked, "what are you doing here? And are you as sick as you look?"

"Looking for you and no?" Jonathan replied with a yawn. "Why didn't you tell me Pichu was stolen?"

Ashimi's face turned bright red while Zero smirked. She gave the virtual boy a glare and grumbled, "you'd be in trouble if you weren't so adorable." Before Zero could say anything as a reaction, she continued, "I had the situation under control!"

"Who's the kid? And why didn't you just tell me, Ashy, I could have..." The world turned blurry.

"Johnny!" Suddenly she was angry and her abrupt shout seemed to be enough to make him focus. "What did you do? Stay up all night?"

"Yeah, you could have told me," despite being out of it, Jonathan knew that Ashimi sounded angry, though he didn't believe he was in the wrong. "I'm supposed to be there for you, princess."

"Stop it!" Ashimi felt a mix of anger, frustration and guilt. "I don't need to be taken care of like a little child. I don't need to be protected by a Rocket bodyguard. I don't need to be a princess. I don't need you!"

"Ashy..." He wasn't sure what he should say to the outburst.

"Go home... Go home and rest. I'll continue my journey alone as I should." Before she could be contradicted, she added with finality. "Don't follow me!"

"Fine!" Jonathan turned away then stopped.

They both looked at the car until Ashimi spoke. "I know, I know, grandpa won't let me drive yet, he thinks I'll get myself killed... You can take care of the car. I'll find my way around." He looked back at her for a second unsure, so she felt the need to insist. "Quit treating me like a kid!" Then she ran as fast as she could.

Zero blinked in confusion at the drama he just witnessed. Then after a short pause, he ran after Ashimi. He found that she had stopped further down the street and was talking to someone on her cellphone. "Don't worry, I'll be okay on my own. Yeah, we're still friends..." Her expression showed that she wasn't entirely sure of if she was telling the truth or not. "Okay, bye..." She ended the call and let out a breath. Jessie could get a bit protective at times, surely it wouldn't take long for her to find Jonathan and drag him home to rest. Then again, tired as he looked, he might not put up much of a fight. She looked at Zero and tried to put on a smile. "I'm going to win a badge at the Vermilion City gym, want to come watch?"

"Confident, aren't you?" Zero laughed. "Okay, I'll tag along, it's not like I have any plans anyway."

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi and Zero were on their way to Vermilion City. The girl occasionally muttered something or other about over-protective friends and proving that she's a capable pokemon trainer who doesn't need people to go out of their way for her. She was moving on foot, taking out her bad mood on any wild pokemon that dared to cross her path. She didn't catch them though, she was picky and preferred to keep only a few pokemon with her that she could really focus on training. "C'mon Squirtle, you have to be braver than this! Just shoot a water gun!"

The little Squirtle stepped forward behind Pichu and Furball with Zubat flying overhead. Clefable had been called out to train, but she was as uncooperative as ever, so Ashimi had to shove the stubborn pink pokemon back in her pokeball. Squirtle looked at the target ahead, he knew there was a wild pokemon hiding in the tall grass and wondered if it was a Pidgey. Maybe if it was startled by the water gun, it would fly away and Squirtle wouldn't have to actually battle it. "Squirtle squirt!" The little turtle tried to be brave, even if it was for just a moment as he stepped into the front line. 'Get ready, Pidgey!' It warned, to give himself confidence more so than to threaten the wild pokemon.

Zero grinned, he was able to understand Squirtle's words, having been made in a similar process to that used for the virtual pokemon Porygon. "Not Pidgey..." He whispered, quietly enough that Squirtle didn't hear him. Ashimi was standing closer to him and did hear, reacting with a curious look, wondering if he had some kind of integrated, basic pokedex functionality. Zero waited expectantly, the pokemon hiding in the tall grass was definitely not a Pidgey and it probably didn't have the temper of one.

After taking a big breath and solidifying his resolve, Squirtle shot a water gun attack at the tall grass. The pokemon hiding there let out a yelp of surprise that was distinctly unlike that of a Pidgey. The creature, which was actually a Mankey, rushed out of the grass and glared at the attacker. With a fierce war cry, the Mankey dashed towards Squirtle, who could only step back and retreat into his shell in fright. The Mankey pushed past the other pokemon, knowing that the Squirtle must have been the culprit for the water gun, and began to attack relentlessly.

"Squirtle, fight back! Do something!" Pichu, Furball and Zubat looked at Ashimi as if asking if they should interfere or give Squirtle the opportunity to fight. Upon hearing the commotion, a group of Mankey and Primeape rushed over to join the other Mankey in bullying Squirtle. "What? Primeape too? This is too much, help him!"

Without any specific commands, as Ashimi had called out very hastily in sudden worry, Zubat wasn't sure what to do. Pichu's first instinct was to use a thunderbolt attack and, seeing his intention, Furball decided to do the same. Given the large number of opponents, they went all the way with the electricity, the bolts colliding and spiraling up into the sky after passing through the unfortunate group of Mankey and Primeape. Zubat was caught by the electricity and fainted. The bat fell and landed on Pichu's head. The yellow pokemon had been focused on the attack and was startled into making it stronger. Furball felt the increase in electricity and added his own burst of extra power, the electricity piling up and flashing high into the sky.

"Zubat, return!" Ashimi recalled the fainted bat. "Looks like Squirtle got caught in the middle of that too, return!" Now she had two knocked out pokemon and one disobedient pokemon, but at least the remaining two were something fierce. "We need to work on your team coordination." Pokemon battles were mostly one on one events and in the occasions when teams were allowed, generally each trainer commanded one pokemon. But Ashimi was a born multi-tasker and liked to train her pokemon all at once, so that they could all progress and make good use of the training time. Thus in the wild, she sometimes guided more than one battle at once. She didn't overwhelm her opponents with numbers, as that would defeat the purpose of seeking a challenge, but she didn't wait for one battle to be over before starting another if an opponent made its presence known.

"Ashimi, I think all that lightning disturbed their flight..." Zero pointed upwards. "They're strong... very strong," he warned.

"Who?" Ashimi looked up, expecting to find a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto passing overhead with peculiarly unfortunate timing, but what she saw was something else entirely and it was quite unexpected. The large looming shadow descended upon her with great speed, snatching her from where she was, leaving Zero and the pokemon on the ground. The Charizard spun around rapidly in mid air and even tossed the girl up, much to the worry of those who watched from the ground below. With just as much agility, the Charizard snatched her up again in mid air and landed, placing Ashimi safely on her feet. At the same time, two other Charizard landed as well. "Charizard!" Ashimi giggled, "it's so nice to see you! She smiled at the other fire pokemon as well. Charla, Charchar, Chari!" She greeted them one by one. "Look at you, Charchar, you've gotten bigger since I last saw you!" She looked around, she had assumed Chari was with the family. "Chari? There you are! You're a Charmeleon! That's awesome!" Chari gave a short greeting that hinted at her bad mood, but also implied that it had nothing to do with Ashimi herself, or her pokemon.

"You know them..." Zero stated more so than inquired. Seeing as it was okay, Pichu and Furball came over to greet the family of Charizard (and Charmeleon) as well. 

"This is my dad's Charizard, well, he's a free pokemon who comes and goes as he wishes, but dad was his trainer. Sometimes he comes to visit with his family, it's been a while since I last saw them." Ashimi introduced each one, "this is Charla, she motioned towards the adult female. Their son, I call him Charchar." Though now he was a Charizard, he had been in Ash's care for a while in past years when he was a young Charmander. He had always been very strong, though cocky. "And here's Chari," Ashimi pointed at the female Charmeleon, who was clearly the youngest of the family.

Charizard gave Zero a curious look and sniffed him, speaking something that only pokemon could understand. "I guess I would be like a Porygon, but different, I'm a virtual human prototype, but they didn't make anymore, it's easier to just train pokemon and humans to do stuff than to try to stabilize one like me." Zero quickly moved on, disregarding the statement before more details were requested, "yes, I can understand you. Really? I bet she'll be happy to hear that!"

"What's going on?" Ashimi curiously asked. "Charizard over here is saying that he was taking his daughter to train with Ash, but if you're already on your pokemon journey, then she can tag along with you, if you don't mind."

"Are you kidding? That's totally awesome! Welcome to the team, Chari!" Ashimi cheered. Chari still looked a bit cranky, and seemed unsure. She glanced at Pichu and Furball, then appeared to reach a decision and nodded towards Ashimi. If the pokemon trained by Ashimi were strong, as they had witnessed, then the little girl she met as a Charmander was no more, the daughter of Ash was a real pokemon trainer now.

As the youngest in a family of strong Charizard, she felt that she was challenged to measure up to them. Her older brother, who was particularly gifted with power at a young age, had been nothing but fully supportive. He was cocky, and had the power to back it, but he also had a soft spot for his little sister. As for Chari, she was beginning to become frustrated by her progress. She was by no means weak, but the comparison between her and her family was still ever present, especially when it came to her gifted older brother and her father's achievements alongside Ash. When her father suggested sending her out of the Charicific Valley to spend some time with his previous trainer, she was all too quick to agree. She could use a break from all the expectations and it would be a breath of fresh air to be around pokemon other than her own kind. Perhaps it was for the best to be trained by Ash's daughter. Even if she had considerably less experience, she was apparently in the middle of a journey and the traveling would make the training interesting. Chari looked forward to the day when she earned her evolution and soared across the skies instead of having to ride on her parents' or brother's back.

Ashimi celebrated the reunion with a picnic, then after a while, Charizard, Charla and their son took off, to give Ash a visit at Cerulean City. Chari hopped into a pokeball without protest and soon Ashimi was on her way. She didn't capture any of the knocked out Mankey. They didn't seem particularly strong, at least not in contrast with Pichu and Furball, albeit that was a pretty tough comparison. Then again Squirtle wasn't exactly strong either, or rather, he didn't even try to be, but Squirtle was given to her, he was already her pokemon and Ashimi couldn't simply abandon him. The Mankey had their pack in the wild, they could take care of themselves and become stronger, but Squirtle wouldn't last long in the wild.

xoxox xox xoxox

Once again, Ashimi arrived at Vermilion City. This time she didn't have any encounters with Daala during her travels from one city to another and for that she was thankful. Another day had gone by, so she headed to the pokemon center. Clefable was as uncooperative as ever, having dinner away from the rest of the group. Her constant glares in Ashimi's direction made it clear that the issue was with her, rather than with the other pokemon or Zero. Chari was feeling better, since she was on her way to getting stronger and just the thought of having a trainer made her feel reassured. Yet her attention was caught by the Clefable's behavior and the Charmeleon curiously approached and started a conversation. She wondered why anyone wouldn't be thrilled to be trained by Ashimi if she truly was similar to her father. 'What are you so mad about?'

Clefable opened her mouth to harshly say it was none of her business, but she thought twice about it when she took a better look at the Charmeleon. Though she was calm, Clefable had a feeling that the Charmeleon he heard the others call Chari, didn't have much patience for rude retorts. Chari didn't needlessly pick fights for the sake of testing her power, that was more so her brother's department, but she did have a temper of her own. Her wrath was not ignited without reason, but when she was given what she considered to be reason enough to feel challenged, Chari was fierce in combat. 'I didn't want to be caught...' Clefable finally admitted. 

'Have you tried to tell Ashimi that? I don't think she's the type to keep pokemon around against their will. If you're having trouble letting her know, that boy can understand us.' Chari pointed out.

Clefable shook her head. 'I could escape if I wanted. She lets me out for walks now and then and only calls me back to the pokeball if I hit her. Besides, I'm sure you noticed that the pokeballs are not locked.' It was a mechanism that was later implemented to the design of pokeballs. Even if they still looked basically the same on the outside, with a shinier glow to them, the inner changes were much more significant. The capsules came with a locking mechanism that could make it so that pokemon could not pop out on their own. 

Albeit most pokeballs allowed pokemon to hear what was happening outside, some had the option of putting them in a state of suspended animation for longer travels during which for whatever reason they couldn't be allowed out, or in the case of the creature in question being caught as a collectible rather than a companion. Ashimi wasn't like that. As pokemon digitalization became more stable, advanced and commonly used, establishments like that of Gary Oak were less needed as places where pokemon could be kept, fed and exercised. As a result Gary did more researching than caring for pokemon than Samuel had done in his time. It also raised concerns about the pokemon's well being, albeit it was assured that suspended animation was painless and the pokemon would wake up just fine even if they remained that way for a long time. Given those facts, it was a generally accepted technology and quite a convenience, except for the lethal damage that would occur should the servers storing the pokemon be damaged or destroyed, but as that rarely happened, few people thought about it. 

None the less, Ashimi thought that it wasn't very nice to keep pokemon endlessly frozen in time, only to wake up in a world decades older than the world they knew, if they were ever woken up at all. Catching many pokemon brought a whole new set of implications. She knew her father's pokemon were well taken care of, let out of their pokeballs regularly to run and play in the extensive Oak land at Pallet Town, but she found the whole rotating through pokemon strategy to be somewhat ineffective. Like Ash, she loved pokemon and like Giovanni, she craved power. Though power could be achieve by numbers, she figured enough pokemon were being caught by Team Rocket already, she knew her grandfather had vast databases full of pokemon in digital storage, frozen in time. If they were to become hers eventually, she had her hands full already. Yet at the same time, it wasn't enough. 

Ashimi wanted an elite team of her own. She found the balance by catching only a few pokemon and focusing on making them strong. She would think of numbers later if it came to that, for now, she would concentrate on her elite team and make them as powerful as they could be. Clefable was her pokemon too, her pokeball was always unlocked but she refused to come out uncalled. Then when she was called, she misbehaved or acted rudely, yet she didn't leave. The pink pokemon's attitude perplexed Ashimi and she wondered if she was being judged as a trainer. She wondered if Clefable was observing her before deciding if she should simply leave, or become a part of the team. Ashimi wasn't one to turn down a challenge, so she didn't tell Clefable to leave.

Chari looked at Clefable with confusion. 'I don't understand. If you don't want to be here and you know you can leave, why don't you? You can return to your home if you want.'

'I can't... That girl... She was willing to fight me herself, not just with her pokemon and she doesn't back down or show any fear when I attack her. She didn't catch my younger siblings even though she could have, it's like she wasn't interested. She's done that a few times since, passing up the opportunity to catch pokemon. She even uses her healing supplies on wild pokemon when she thinks the battle was a little too harsh, even if she intends to let them go. She's pretty tough for a human, but strangely gentle at the same time. I want to see just how sincere she is,' Clefable confessed. 'I was told humans are not to be trusted, I was told they are weak creatures that hide behind our power, but she seems so different... I'm not convinced though, she has to be an exceptionally tricky human and I'll unmask her even if I have to follow her to the ends of the world!'

Chari was reminded of a story her father once told her and her brother. He was mistreated by his original trainer and rescued by Ash. As a Charmander, he relied on Ash, but as soon as he evolved, he became confident and developed an air of superiority. He didn't need Ash anymore, he assumed, but Ash never gave up on him, even after Charizard cost him a crucial battle at the Indigo League, which ended his quest for the championship that year. Ash continued battling and when Charizard realized he did need him, Ash was always there. He had earned Charizard's trust and loyalty, but he wasn't selfish about it, allowing Charizard to pursue his own path in life, instead of making the pokemon follow him. That's why Charizard would always return to Ash, their bond could never be broken.

'What is it?' Clefable asked after a few moments of silence had passed. 'What are you spacing out about?'

'I was just remembering something,' Chari shook her head. It would be of no use to try to convince Clefable that not all humans were the same, that was something she would have to see for herself. At least Chari's doubts were gone, it sounded like Ashimi was indeed living up to the legacy of her father and adding her own style to it. 

"Chari! Come watch videos with us!" Ashimi called out from the opposite corner of the guest room at the Vermilion pokemon center. "Just a few more and then we'll get some sleep, we can't spend the entire night watching battles on Poke Tube when a real gym battle awaits in the morning! You can come too, Clefable, but only if you behave." Clefable glared, then looked away in response, making a growling sound of displeasure. Chari left their corner and joined Zero and the pokemon as they crowded around the tablet laptop Ashimi held. "Hey... This is... It looks like it's from a camera that was set up at Nolan's... It's one of dad's battles... Articuno versus Charizard! Hey Chari, that's your dad!" 

As the video played, everyone was focused on it, but Ashimi took a moment to look at Chari, who seemed to be hanging back, not wanting to draw attention all of a sudden. She placed her arm around the pokemon, offering her support and whispered reassuringly. "I know what it's like to carry big expectations, but I won't give up and neither should you. Who knows, maybe someday it'll be you and me taking down a legendary." Chari looked into Ashimi's eyes and at that moment, she knew beyond a doubt that traveling with her was definitely the right thing to do.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 7: Ashimi's last line in this chapter is from Wreck It Ralph, one of the funniest movies I've seen. I love the animation, the characters, the video game references, everything; so I just had to include a fun reference to it and this felt like the perfect opportunity. The part with the barrels was partially based on the original Donkey Kong, the one where Mario was still called Jumpman. The knife trap staircase was in part inspired by the arrow corridor in the game Sweet Fuse: At Your Side, though I'm sure similar scenarios have been present on many games and movies before. 

Chapter 8: The names Ashimi and Zero incorrectly guessed for the green haired boy, are all from Final Fantasy. The pokemon mentioned with Team Plasma are Kabutops and Genesect. Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII and Shizuru from Phantasy Star Portable 2 are some of the video game villains who have done the whole walking through the fire scene. Volt and Electro's name were chosen based on electricity, obviously, and Electro's nickname, Thor, is based on the mythological character.

Chapter 9: Charizard's son appears in Don't Give Me Diamonds, though as I said before, you can still understand this story even if you haven't read that one. This story marks his daughter's first appearance in any of my stories. Charizard is my second favorite pokemon after Pikachu, so I'm glad to welcome one of its evolutionary family into Ashimi's team, plus it will be a fun relationship to explore. We also learned more about the progress of the world's technology and Clefable's attitude... Charizard's battle against Articuno was in the anime, you can find it on Poke Tube, I mean You Tube, if you haven't seen it. 

xoxox xox xoxox

Characters

Zero: An odd little boy who looks to be about 5 years old but definitely doesn't act like an average little kid. He has spiky blue and orange hair, his eyes have no visible pupils and are colored with a blue to black gradient. He is in fact a two month old virtual android made with a process similar to that used for Porygon. His artificial intelligence was created from the combined brain scans of two humans. He was used for research purposes, but is no longer needed at Rocket HQ.

Volt: Surge's 13 year old son. Like his father, his team's main focus is electric types and he recently became the Vermilion City gym leader. He has teal eyes and blond hair. His greatest rival is his older brother, General Electro alias Thor, who is quite the military man.

John Doe: The son of Butch and Cassidy, a 15 year old boy whose name no one seems to remember, and their guesses are all over the place. He was born on the same day as Johnny, being only a few hours older, and claims to have been overshadowed by him since that very day. He wants to impress Giovanni's granddaughter to climb the ranks, but things don't often go his way. He has light green hair and unusually colored eyes, one being brown and the other being somewhat pink (due to lack of pigmentation) though they are still very much human eyes.


	4. Part 4

Awakening 

Chapter 10: A Storm of Fire and Lightning

Early in the morning, Ashimi marched out of Vermilion City, much to Zero's surprise. "Weren't you ready to head to the gym?"

"I was," Ashimi admitted. She surveyed the area and found what looked like a good spot to fulfill her purpose. "But yesterday's pokemon battle videos made me think about the mishap with Zubat and Squirtle getting electrocuted, plus the fact that I've never actually battled with Chari. Those battles we watched were so epic, I want to battle like that too. It's true that I won't be battling with everyone at the same time at the gym, but thinking about what I won't really need to do at the gym, just reminded me about what I will need to do."

"Which is?" Zero prompted.

"Face a very electric pokemon guided by a gym leader, and my previous gym leader battle taught me not to lower my guard. Electricity, that's the theme of the Vermilion gym, so my usual main fighters won't have much of an advantage in their own element. Okay, so Furball is not actually an electric type, but he does use thunderbolt a lot. Luckily, I have a new power house on the team and it just so happens that she can learn the move dig. Chari, I choose you!" In a beam of red light, the Charmeleon emerged from her pokeball. "Look at those awesome claws, these will lead us to victory! Chari's going to be a super fast digger with some training and if she's underground, then she'll have the perfect defense against electric attacks. Then she'll jump out with her fire like an erupting volcano and win the badge! I know I was feeling impatient yesterday, but I'm still making pretty good time on the journey and the gym isn't going to get up and walk away if I spend a few extra days training. If there's something I learned by battling Sabrina, is that I need to be prepared. Everything felt pretty easy until that point when she took me by surprise, and I'm not lowering my guard again!"

Zero clapped, "quite the speech, but can you back it? I'll be able to sense Chari's movements underground with my pokedex functions and time her speed."

"Great! You're more useful than a regular pokedex app!" Ashimi cheered. It was clear to see that she was very eager for the training and so was Chari. "Ready Chari?" She pumped her fist in the air, the Charmeleon mimicking the motion with a determined roar."That's the spirit! Okay, look at what I do," Ashimi began moving her arms as if she was swimming. "Try doing this, but underground. Move through the ground as quickly as possible. We'll practice until you can glide through it as easily as if it were water!" Chari's eyes went wide. "Okay, bad comparison, not water," Ashimi laughed. "Um... lava? Mud? Pudding! You need to get strong until the dirt feels as soft as pudding!" That sounded much better than water, so Chari looked eager again. "Alright! Go everyone!" Ashimi called out the rest of her pokemon and Pichu jumped off her head to join the others.

"Everyone at once?" Zero blinked.

"This way the training will go by faster and they'll all get stronger!" Despite Ashimi's optimistic energy, Clefable was cranky as usual. She went to slap her trainer, but Ashimi caught her wrist and gave her a serious look that made the pokemon freeze in place. In a few years her glare might just be as piercing as Giovanni's, or almost. "You think I wouldn't be used to this by now? You can join us in training and become super strong, or you can go sit around being cranky, but if you ruin this for the others, back in your pokeball you go. If you insist on sticking around with us, you'll have to learn to be friendly." Clefable pulled her hand back and stomped away in a huff. She picked a comfortable tree and sat under its shade. 

Ashimi turned her attention to the rest of her pokemon and instructed Chari, Pichu and Furball to start digging tunnels parallel to each other for some initial simple practice. Zubat didn't look quite up to the task of digging. "It's okay little buddy, your specialty lies in your speed," Ashimi tried to cheer him up when she noticed he was looking kind of uncomfortable. He wasn't as strong as the others physically, but he was very fast and had quite a loud mouth for screeching and using sonic waves. "We still need to work on some more attacks though, you have plenty of targets here. Air slash those trees with everything you have!"

Chari, Pichu and Furball popped out of the ground at Ashimi's feet. She observed the disturbed ground that indicated their path. "Let's keep practicing, push the dirt aside and move through it smoothly, try not to show it on the surface. That was just a straight line, but you'll have to move in more directions than that. Try to follow me from underground as I move around. Hey, Zero, can you do what I do and tell me how closely they're following us?"

"Sure," when Zero agreed, he didn't imagine what Ashimi would be doing. 

"Okay, here we go!" Ashimi started cheering loudly and jumping like a Buneary, to make her location clear to the three pokemon following her from under the ground. "C'mon Zero, you said you would!" Zero looked around, confirmed beyond a doubt that there was no one else around, and followed suit. "Let's go Zubat, chop that branch over there with air slash!" 

'She's really training them all at once,' Zero observed. 'Well, except the stubborn Clefable, but still...'

After some time, they stopped for lunch, then resumed their training again. Ashimi started marching instead of jumping as the underground movements improved. They spend the whole day at it, then returned to the pokemon center for some much needed rest and bathing. Chari was, understandably, not too fond of water, but Ashimi managed to coax her into carefully washing with a sponge.

Ashimi returned to her training the next day as well, delaying her gym battle again. She continued practicing digging with Pichu, Furball and Chari and more slashing with Zubat. Clefable was out of her pokeball, but still unwilling to cooperate. They moved all over the area surrounding Vermilion City, until they had enough digging practice. Then it was time to move to the next level. "Flamethrower! Thunderbolt!" Pichu and Furball dug up a hole and let their electricity flow upwards through it. Chari didn't even bother digging herself up and instead blasted through the ground, creating a small volcano shape, from which flames burst. "Alright! You're doing great! You too Zubat, keep slashing at those trees! Chari, Pichu, Furball, don't stop moving, again, thunderbolt and flamethrower!" The pokemon moved underground, once again releasing their attacks into the surface with great force. "Okay, one more day to work on the timing and speed, then we'll be good to go." Ashimi decided.

The last day of training before the gym battle passed successfully, Ashimi practiced with a sort of hide and seek game where her pokemon were supposed to avoid being found underground while she tried to guess their position. Zero would tell her if she had been right, while the pokemon dug more tunnels and used already made tunnels to move around.

xoxox xox xoxox

Finally, Ashimi went to the Vermilion gym at last, with Zero tagging along to watch. It didn't take her long to introduce herself, state her business and declare, rather loudly, that she intended to win a thunder badge. Soon she found herself on the opposite side of the battle arena of gym leader Volt, who called out his first pokemon. "Go Raichu!"

"I'm so looking forward to this battle!" Ashimi could barely contain her excitement. She wanted to see if her training would pay off. Albeit Sabrina was on a league of her own, Ashimi still learned from her to always be prepared. "Chari, I choose you!" The Charmeleon eagerly stepped forward. "Let's get things started with a flame thrower.

"Raichu, dodge it and use thunder!" Volt knew that his Raichu was strong and fast. Though the opposing Charmeleon looked strong, he was still feeling confident.

"Be careful Chari, out of the way!" Chari dodged, just barely managing to get away from the electric currents. Her fire had missed, but this was only the beginning and she had plenty of tricks left. "Use inferno, make a wall of fire!" with a big flaming breath, Chari isolated herself from Raichu on the other side of the arena.

"Going into hiding? That's not going to work, Raichu, break through that firewall with thunder!" Volt called out. Having learned from a previous experience, Raichu didn't get too close to the fire and instead tried to ready his electricity to go the distance.

"Chari, stay moving, rapid fire flamethrower!" From the wall of fire, which Chari continuously fed emerged a series of fireballs like cannon blasts from the walls of a fortress.

"Dodge it Raichu, stay moving too!" Volt urged. The Raichu ceased his attacks and instead went on the defensive. Volt wasn't alarmed though, he knew Raichu had plenty of stamina and his opponent was making a big effort to keep the flames going. 'She'll tire out in no time, then we'll finish her off,' he thought.

"Her flame is decreasing..." Zero quietly observed.

"Chari, break through!" Ashimi made a digging motion that Volt didn't quite catch, as he couldn't see beyond the light show of the battle. As Chari ran, releasing fire balls, the wall of flames slowly diminished, as she was no longer feeding it. She aimed at the floor until she broke through the flooring and dug into the soil beneath. 

When the fire wall was gone, Volt was ready to send Raichu on the attack. Raichu was both fast and strong, but he tended to stop moving when he focused his power, even if he could react quickly and keep running immediately after. Chari could spit out a barrage of fireballs at a full run. "Where did she go?" Volt looked at his opponent, Ashimi looked as if she was in deep concentration. "Underground..." Volt realized. Ashimi appeared to be examining something in the arena, but her line of sight didn't correspond to anything but empty space. That boy who was with her, Zero, met Volt's eyes with his unusually colored gaze and chuckled.

Ashimi gave Zero a sideways glance, read something in his expression and fixed her gaze on Raichu, so as to not give away Chari's underground position with her eyes. Then suddenly, she shouted, "now!"

Volt didn't have time to think about how odd Zero's eyes were and wonder where he got those contact lenses, because he could only assume that's what they were. He wasn't sure what Ashimi was calling out for her pokemon to do, but he knew it couldn't be good for them. "Raichu, move!" The electric pokemon darted away, but the sudden burst of flames from the broken floor caught him in the hind legs and tail. Then just as suddenly, the Charmeleon was gone. "Don't stay still, Raichu, there's no way she can dig faster than you can run. Raichu shook off the pain and kept running this way and that. "Looks like our little friend's too scared to come out, go get her out, quick attack!" 

"Flamethrower!" Raichu dove into the tunnel, only to jump back as he was assaulted by a burst of flames. Raichu rolled around, putting the fire out, his fur was scorched, but he wasn't out of the battle yet. 'Chari's stamina is low from all the fire she used, her flame...' Ashimi mused. 'I can't use any more fire attacks, I've already pushed her too much and I'm not about to cause her to faint from over exertion. But she's strong, she can finish this in a different way while her fire recovers.' 

"You know, don't you? You watched her train, calculated how long it would take to dig," Zero knew that the tunnel was bigger than it appeared to be, there was space set up for another surprise attack. "You followed her without seeing her, and you know how much stamina she has." It was normal for him to have that information due to his peculiar nature, but for a regular person to know all that, they would have to pay very close attention and have sharp instincts. 'Using a lot of fire early on, digging the tunnels in advanced, using the last of the fire and making it look like fire was their intended final offensive move. It would be hard not to focus on all that fire, but it's okay that it's used up, because it did what it had to do. Fire from a fire pokemon is too predictable, Volt would expect it the second he saw Chari. The display of power didn't fit the true defensive strategy or the finishing move, which wasn't meant to be a fire type at all.'

"Almost there... Come out, Chari!" The Charmeleon emerged from the tunnel at her trainer's signal.

"Raichu, Thunder!" Volt immediately attacked without a second to waste.

"Down Chari!" Ashimi urged.

"Not this again!" Volt was getting very fed up with the strategy. He wasn't going to send his Raichu to get blasted with fire again, but he had to do something. Yet before he could think of what to do... 

"Come out and finish this!" The arena burst open as Chari jumped out. no more fire, she had used too much before and her flame was still recovering, but through her panting, she could still fight. "Dragon claw!" Raichu tried to run, but the pain of the earlier burns made his normally speedy movements feel sluggish. Chari attacked with everything she had, putting her all into the finishing blow, slicing away with her sharp claws. 

For Raichu it was too much, he had fainted. "Raichu..." Volt watched in disbelief. "C'mon Raichu, get up! We almost have her!"

"It won't work... Chari may be tired, but don't you see Raichu's burns? He'll just hurt himself if he tries to use his speed..." Ashimi pointed out.

"Raichu...return!" She was right, Volt realized. "It's not like your pokemon is doing much better though, look at her flame."

"I know... Well done Chari, come and rest," Ashimi recalled her pokemon as well.

'I used to think power was all I needed, but my father's story about his battle with Ash Ketchum made me think that I also needed speed. The speed to strike fast and the power to strike hard. It's not enough, Ashimi rendered Raichu's power ineffective and chipped away at his speed. No matter what advantages you have, they can be lost... Perhaps that goes for you too, brother, someday, I'll beat you,' Volt quietly thought.

"Hey! Earth to gym leader Volt! Do I get a badge?" Ashimi waved her hand in front of his face.

Volt was woken up from his thoughts to see that his opponent had made her way across the arena and now stood in front of him waiting expectantly and impatiently. "Yeah," he presented her with a thunder badge, "you earned this."

"Awesome! I got another badge!" Ashimi cheered and made a victory pose. She looked over to Zero who gave her a thumbs up and smirked, it would look cocky on an older boy, but on this small creature with doll-like eyes and multicolored hair, she thought that any expression could only look cute. She would have to get him a cute little gijinka hat to wear sometime soon. Her smile suddenly faded for a moment as if something was missing. Johnny wasn't there to cheer for her, though he must be feeling better from his cold by now. 

Her pensive look turned into stubborn determination. She was still angry at him, she recalled. She had to prove that she could take care of herself. Then she laughed when she noticed that Volt was watching her, as if trying to figure out what in the world was going through her mind. "It was a fun battle, we'll have to do it again sometime, okay?" She quickly blurted out the words before anyone had the opportunity to ask her what her silence and the expressions that rapidly crossed over her face were about, not that Volt could possibly have a clue anyway, but Zero could be rather observant if he wanted and he knew about Johnny.

"Yes, I would like a rematch one day," Volt agreed. They shook hands in good faith and Ashimi left the Vermilion City gym with one more badge. 

xoxox xox xoxox

Later, it didn't surprise Ashimi too much to see Volt when she and Zero were leaving the pokemon center, after Chari recovered. Given their battle, he had a good reason to be there and probably dropped off Raichu while she and Zero were celebrating with ice-cream. Ashimi had left Chari at the pokemon center and since she wasn't sure if a fire type who used up nearly all her fire recently would like an ice-cream cone, she brought her back a cupcake instead. "Hey Volt, got your Raichu all healed up?"

"Yes..." Volt replied, as if his mind had been elsewhere, yet there was a look of realization in his eyes, as if he had found exactly what he was thinking of looking for, or rather who. "Actually, I've decided to go on a journey. My father was away on business at Johto, but he'll be back tomorrow, I'm sure he won't mind stepping out of retirement for a while and taking care of the gym." He couldn't ask his mother to mind the gym, her team of pokemon didn't fit the theme at all. With Wailord, Steelix, Beartic, Mamoswine, Snorlax and Aggron, she didn't have a single electric type. As for his older brother, he wouldn't even ask, General Electro would surely be busy with Team Rocket stuff that Volt would likely have a hard time justifying, if he ever tried, which he wasn't going to. He somewhat understood the necessity of Team Rocket to an extent, the world had become dependent on it after all, but was that truly the only answer? 

"Really? Maybe I can battle him!" Ashimi cheered.

"Figures..." Zero commented with some amusement.

"Hey!" Volt crossed his arms in indignation. "I'm the official gym leader and you already won a badge, isn't that good enough?" 

"Oh, it's not like I'm in a rush to leave Vermilion City. It won't take long to..." Ashimi paused. A part of her wished she had kept the car, but he knew she would be tempted by its speed. While Jonathan loved speed as much as any teenager, he could control the need for it with the notion that if they had an accident Giovanni would have his head. As for Ashimi, deep down she knew her impatience would get to her and she'd probably run over a few unfortunate pokemon with some crazy improvised shortcut, then she'd feel bad about it and her grandfather would scold her because she could only have the car for the journey if she didn't drive it until she was sixteen, or until he thought she was ready and said it was okay if he decided to shorten her wait. "Actually, it might take a while to get to Celadon City if we're walking at least part of the way, so I should be on my way after all."

"Do you mind if I come?" Volt asked, taking Ashimi by surprise. "I want to train harder and it's been a while since I had my Indigo League journey," he elaborated. He couldn't explain it, but his determination to become a better pokemon trainer was stronger than ever. 

"I don't mind, you could give us a ride on your car," Ashimi suggested hopefully.

"I don't have a car, I'm only thirteen..." Volt pointed out.

"What!?" Ashimi exclaimed in surprise. Zero blinked at her reaction more so than Volt's revelation. She figured he probably had Volt's age on a file or something and already knew, or he was honestly somehow not surprised. Given that Volt was looking at her strangely because of the outburst, she continued. "You're taller than Johnny and he's fifteen, and not a short fifteen year old either."

Volt crossed his arms, unable to understand what was ever so unbelievable. "some people are taller than others," he stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Yeah, I guess, and I suppose you're still not as gigantic as your father, probably won't be..." Ashimi mused aloud.

"Hey!" Volt wasn't sure how to react to that, but he knew he should form some sort of complaint.

"Oh, I didn't mean that in a bad way. I think Surge is totally cool. I wouldn't have considered battling him if I didn't have a lot of respect for him," Ashimi assured.

"That... That's not it..." Volt frowned. Strange as it was, he was actually bothered more so by her theory that he would never be as tall as his father, his older brother was. It was silly, yet it was another thing in which he couldn't beat his brother. Sure, he was tall, but in comparison to Surge and Electro he was short, never mind that most people were tiny by that comparison. 

Ashimi waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn't, she shrugged it off. "Let's get walking then, we have a long way to go!" She headed out of the pokemon center with Volt and Zero following.

Zero watched the scene unfold, ever observant as was his nature. 'I bet Ashimi misses that friend of hers, Johnny, and she probably doesn't remember her little outburst right after we left Saffron City which ended in her ranting at her cellphone, without actually having a call active, and blocking him. She's probably wondering why he won't text her... Oh well, she'll figure it out eventually.'

"What are you snickering about, Zero?" Ashimi looked back at him as they made their way down the street.

"Nothing," Zero put on an innocent smile. Ashimi brushed off her suspicions and continued on her way, yet the mischievous glint in her eyes made his AI algorithms yield the result of strongly recommended caution.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 11: Unexpected Alliances

Determined not to speak to Jonathan until he decided to speak to her first, Ashimi rushed through Saffron City in a taxi. It was the fastest route to get to Celadon City, though she was tempted to just swim round the peninsula's border. She didn't know if virtual people could swim, but she was probably enough of a good swimmer to carry Zero on her back if she had to, though they could probably get a boat or something. But that would be silly, she refused to metaphorically cross the road just so she could avoid walking directly next to Johnny, but she also refused to get out of the cab until she carefully examined the street to make sure a certain blue-violet haired boy wasn't around. Volt wasn't sure what in the world was going on, but he had a feeling that the cool and confident trainer who had bested him in battle was having a rather childish moment. 

Volt didn't have time to give it too much thought during the taxi ride though, as his gaze kept going to Zero and how still he was, as if in a trance. Lights seemed to flash in his odd eyes which he blinked only purposefully and never involuntarily. He stared at the light and thought he could make out the vague silhouettes of ones and zeros. That lasted until Ashimi commented on the video that had been playing on her tablet, looked to him to see why he wasn't replying and realized he had been ignoring her pokemon battle conversation. She preceded to attempt to elbow him in the ribs, which ended up being in the stomach since he was noticeably taller. Thus the trip continued with such little antics taking place now and then, but still, nothing of vital importance occurred during the taxi ride or their inevitable short stops along the way.

Eventually Ashimi, Volt and Zero arrived at Celadon City. Ashimi was thinking about going straight to the gym, but a message on her phone made her pause. Earlier, Volt had received a text that made him cringe, but had gotten over it quickly enough, calling it nothing and not revealing what it was about. Now for Ashimi there were the usual words of encouragement from her parents and grandmother, but also something else, a message from her grandfather. Giovanni only ever messaged her if he had a reason to, and the reason was often very good or very bad. She wondered if her progress wasn't fast enough or if he somehow knew she was going on foot and taxi and disapproved of her inability to work with the Rocket agent that was supposed to be assisting her. Yet Giovanni didn't mention anything about it. She didn't doubt he knew because he found out about everything, albeit he appeared to be ignoring the situation and leaving it up to her to resolve. 

Giovanni's message was actually somewhat humorous in tone, which was a pleasant surprise for Ashimi. 'Surge emailed me saying you destroyed his gym and inspired his son to become your follower. Good job on both accounts, here's a reward.' Ashimi laughed and showed Volt the message to see his reaction.

"What? I didn't say that! I told dad I was considering traveling with you to the next city. I figure he'd know who you are since he knows Giovanni and Ash and... Well, there's my brother's job as Team Rocket's military general." Volt wondered just how upset about the mess left behind at the gym his father really was. He gave him a scolding, not really for the result of the battle, but because of the state the gym's floor was left in, which was his job as the official gym leader to repair, but he didn't actually tell him to go back and fix it, instead advising him to make the best of his journey. Volt was on the fence about Team Rocket and the same could be said about his opinion on Ashimi at first. Before their battle, he didn't really know her, aside from knowing of her name and existence, so he didn't judge her until now. When she won he was impressed with her skill and resourcefulness. He began to think she wasn't bad at all, but that wasn't really the point. The point, or rather points, were what his father thought and what Giovanni thought. 

What if Surge was allowing this journey to encourage him to join the Rocket military and hopefully achieve a rank like that of his brother? He kept talking about how they couldn't just pretend the Rockets weren't there and how the best they could do was join them and thus help shape them, turn them into something better over time, but Volt wondered if it was possible to achieve that by serving the Rocket empire, rather than somehow facing it. Albeit how exactly it could be faced was not something he knew the answer to. As for Giovanni, was he encouraging Ashimi to try to turn him to their side? Would she try? No, she didn't appear to be sneaky like that and if she had some plans, showing him the message would be counter-productive.

"Well, it's decided!" Ashimi suddenly declared. "We're going to the Celadon City shopping center! I might as well put this reward to good use! Hey Volt, since I couldn't have gotten this without you, I'll get you a present. Oh and Zero, I'm going to get you the cutest gijinka hat!" There it was again, that glow of mischief in her eyes. Zero took an automatic step back, but no one seemed to notice. Ashimi looked at her phone again to see if there were any more messages and found something odd... Blocked messages? Her service provider was Team Rocket, their satellite had the best anti spam technology with real Porygon-Z sorting the messages, rather than a program. 

Ashimi didn't need to block anyone, so why was there something other than a zero there? She gasped, suddenly remembering that in a moment of anger she had blocked Johnny. She unblocked him and looked through the messages, but it seemed like he was busy with Rocket business and that she should call him when and if she wanted him to return. The stubborn side of her wanted to just wait for him to show up like he always did, but she knew that wasn't fair. She was the one that told him to leave her alone after all, so she could prove herself. Maybe her battle with Volt and the acknowledgement she received was proof enough. If that was the case then it was time to make peace. She sent a message and put her phone away, glancing at the case as she did. She knew Johnny was probably in the middle of Rocket business and had to get it done before joining her, but that was okay. Then with renewed determination and cheer, Ashimi hurried to the Celadon City shopping center... 

xoxox xox xoxox

Two hours later, Volt left the Celadon City shopping center running like a panicked maniac. Ashimi pouted and watched him go. "All I did was ask him to try on a gijinka hat..." Zero walked up next to her and pointed towards someone who happened to be hidden behind a mountain of plush toys. 

Ashimi walked around it and found Dorme, giggling and enjoying some pictures on her phone. Dorme looked up from her task and shrugged. "Did you know Volt is Thor's little brother?"

"Thor?" Ashimi inquired.

"General Electro, from Team Rocket," Dorme specified.

"Oh, him..." Ashimi had heard rumors about the general and he didn't sound anything like Volt. "So why were you taking pictures of Volt in hats?"

"If he grows up to be like his brother, I'll have blackmail to defend myself," Dorme grinned victoriously. "He probably noticed the pictures and thinks Thor bullied me into spying on him or something. He was probably afraid I'd report he was lazing about trying on hats instead of training to recover from his recent defeat. The progress report of your journey was meant for Giovanni, but you know how the Viridian pokemon doctor is, Laiki has a talent for intercepting gossip and shared the information with a few of us. Also, pretty good training session before the gym match I'll admit, but I've been training too!"

"Alright, I'll take that as a request for a rematch!" Ashimi assumed, though she wasn't far from the truth. "There's only one problem, Volt left and it's going to be difficult carrying all my shopping bags on my own. If I can just get them to the pokemon center, I can mail them from there."

Dorme crossed her arms with a look of disapproval. "I'm not going to carry your stuff around. Why did you buy so much gijinka stuff anyway? Just look at all this... All those poke-hats and dolls and... An eeveelution charm bracelet, it's so cute! Ehem..." Dorme put on a serious expression again, after her small fangirlish outburst. "I'll help you carry your things for a price..."

"The bracelet?" Ashimi sighed, already knowing the answer.

"Good offer," Dorme smiled. 

"Oh, alright... C'mon Zero, we're ready to... go? Zero?" Ashimi spotted the boy staring off into space, tiny lights reflected in his eyes. "Zero, what's up?" She shook his shoulder as if to wake him.

"Oh... Hey... I was just doing some debugging," Zero replied.

"But you did that during the whole taxi ride. Are you okay?" Ashimi frowned in concern.

"It's nothing!" Zero smiled, though it was a lot more than nothing. He was only a prototype and not entirely a successful one. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Ashimi put a Pichu hat on Zero's head, "now we match."

Dorme observed the scene with curiosity. That boy, his hair, his eyes, his chibi-like form. "Aw, what a little cutie, he's like a doll."

"He's a virtual boy made by Team Rocket, not quite a Porygon though, but he does have integrated pokedex functions," Ashimi patted Zero on the head as if he was her brand new toy.

"A virtual being... Made like a Porygon, but human? I had no idea Team Rocket could do that. I want one!" Dorme squealed.

Zero pouted, which only made him look cuter. "I'm not just a doll, you know." 

His claim was met with a chorus of "aw!" from Ashimi and Dorme.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi, Dorme and Zero made it to the pokemon center and dropped off Ashimi's purchases, then they went out to find a spot for Ashimi and Dorme's rematch. They found a spot to have their battle in front of the Celadon gym, which was at the moment closed. "Go Hitmonlee!" Dorme released her fighter from his pokeball. "This time I'll win! Ah! Ha ha ho ha ha!"

"I wonder if the gym will be open tomorrow..." Ashimi stared at the sign on the door as if she had momentarily forgotten what she was doing.

"I detect the presence of pokemon inside, though I can only track them if they are outside of their pokeballs. Venusaur and Exeggutor were called out just now," Zero revealed.

Dorme glared daggers at her opponent. "Never mind the gym! You should be thinking about our battle!"

"Huh? Oh right, this should be a good warm up!" Ashimi wondered if she could get Clefable to battle, she hadn't really made any progress, but it couldn't be forced. Thinking better of it, she decided to send out her Meowth. "Furball, I choose you!"

The doors of the gym suddenly opened and a pair of vine whips emerged from the darkness within wrapping around Ashimi and Dorme, pulling them inside. "After them!" Zero hurried inside, followed by the surprised Hitmonlee, Furball and Pichu, who had fallen off Ashimi's head when she was suddenly taken.

The Celadon gym was like a green house on the inside. The scent of flowers was all around and the feeling of humidity hung in the air. The vine whips released Ashimi and Dorme to stand on one side of a pokemon battle arena. On the other side there were two girls. One of them appeared to be the gym leader, Kirameki, wearing one of the elegant kimonos she was known for. Her long straight black hair reached down to her waist and her light brown eyes had a sharp look to them, unlike the gentle kindness she was rumored to possess. "You have selected Meowth and Hitmonlee," Kirameki spoke. "Let the battle commence!"

"What?" Ashimi and Dorme exclaimed in confusion. Zero, Hitmonlee, Furball and Pichu watched the scene, unsure of how to react. However, what shocked them the most was not the gym leader's unexpected declaration of a team battle, but the identity of her partner. "Daala!" Ashimi and Dorme exclaimed simultaneously. They gave each other odd looks, as if questioning how the other knew her.

"I've been investigating Daala's actions. She seems to be an odd combination between mask-less vigilante and pokemon trainer for hire, kind of like a traveling mercenary of sorts, but without the oversized sword," Dorme explained.

"If you've been following her, then you must have noticed she's out to get Team Rocket, especially me it seems." Ashimi realized that would explain why she kept running into Dorme. Even if Daala took on other jobs on the side, Ashimi was her target and Dorme was investigating Daala while taking care of a few other Rocket duties, so it was to be expected that they'd run into each other. However it didn't look like Dorme was trying to directly confront Daala as much as keep an eye on her movements, as if trying to get information from her indirectly. That could only mean that what Ashimi knew was only a part of something bigger.

"Get your head in the game, Ashimi," Zero cautioned.

Ashimi woke from her racing thoughts and focused on the present. Dorme had said something, but she only half heard it and now Kirameki was speaking. "Miss Daala's personal business is irrelevant to me. I have hired her as my partner in battle and that is all there is to it." She giggled cutely, as Kirameki was known to do, but it felt forced, like an act. "Should you choose to forfeit the battle, I shall deny you the chance of obtaining a rainbow badge."

"That's not fair!" Ashimi protested, "it's not like I was going to back down anyway!" She would have the element advantage if she sent out Chari, but Kirameki had already decided that the selected pokemon were Meowth, aka Furball, and Hitmonlee. It didn't matter, Furball was strong, he could still win, but what about Dorme? Ashimi looked at her, the problem wasn't her skill as a pokemon trainer, it was the aspect of effectively working together.

"Looks like they want to take us both out at once. I won't fall that easily, try to stay out of my way, Ashimi." Dorme hastily begun the battle. "Hitmonlee, use jump kick!" 

"No, don't!" Ashimi called out, but it was too late.

"I told you not to get in my way!" Dorme snapped. Hitmonlee dashed forward and jumped into the air. It looked as if his kick was right on target.

"Venusaur, grab him with vine whip!" Daala's pokemon stretched out her vines and caught Hitmonlee in the air.

"Exeggutor, tie up Hitmonlee with grass knot!" Kirameki followed up. 

Hitmonlee was tossed aside, wrapped in vines. Ashimi let out a breath with an, "I told you so..."

"Venusaur, charge up your solar beam!" Daala made good use of the distraction to prepare for the next attack.

"Don't underestimate me!" Dorme growled. "Break free, Hitmonlee!" The pokemon struggled for a moment, then drew his legs apart, breaking the vines, and hopped to his feet. "Blaze kick!"

"Use egg bomb, Exeggutor!" Kirameki called out in a hurry. Her pokemon reacted fast and released the explosive sphere towards Hitmonlee.

"Jump over it, Hitmonlee!" Feeling energized and ready for payback, Hitmonlee jumped high, his legs glowing with the heat of the upcoming attack.

"No, don't jump over! Roll under!" Ashimi called out.

"Solar beam!" Daala's Venusaur released the massive beam of energy, which collided with its target. 

Hitmonlee fell to the ground in pain. "Hitmonlee! Ashimi, stop meddling and do something!"

"I would if you weren't planning to have Hitmonlee turn on Furball the second I send him out there!" Ashimi shouted back.

"What?" Dorme was taken aback, but she had a hand in the cookie jar expression that revealed Ashimi's theory wasn't wrong. "How did you even know?"

"Easy, that look on your face is like a pokemon using nasty plot," Ashimi replied. "That and the fact that you kept eyeing Furball instead of looking at your opponents. They dragged us here from a distance with vine whip. Plus from her position at the far end of the arena, Venusaur would have trouble aiming low because she'd probably end up hitting the ground before reaching the target, but shifting to the right, left or up wouldn't be much of a problem."

"Oh..." Dorme frowned. She hated to admit it, but those were pretty good observations.

"Incoming!" Zero reminded them that a battle was still actively taking place.

Exeggutor had released a series of seed bombs right at Hitmonlee before he could recover from the solar beam. "Furball, get Hitmonlee out of there!" The Meowth rushed into action, pushing Hitmonlee out of the way. He got hit a few times with the seed bombs as a result, but Hitmonlee was shielded from further damage, the fighting pokemon probably wouldn't have been able to take a hit like that after all he had endured. "Exeggutor's long range attacks are a problem."

Dorme clenched her fists as her sides and looked at the battle intensely. Blaze kick would have the type advantage, but Hitmonlee would have to get close to get a good hit in and then it would have to be a very strong one. "Hitmonlee, meditate and get ready." Though the area was open to attacks, Hitmonlee trusted in his trainer and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes. "I'll take him out, just give me one shot."

Ashimi looked at Dorme unsure, considering her offer for a moment. If she was done playing the rival and ready to battle seriously, could she keep her word? Hitmonlee was strong, but he was at his limit. Daala and Kirameki were on the attack again, there was no time to consider this further. "Alright, one shot. Furball, thunderbolt full power non-stop!" Furball was surrounded by electricity, shooting off one bolt of lightning after another without rest. The power was overwhelming, though it was consequently depleting Furball's energy reserves fast. Daala and Kirameki were forced to go on the defensive, doing what they could to give their pokemon directions in dodging the incoming onslaught. Even Zero was far less quiet than usual, cheering along with Pichu.

Hitmonlee opened his eyes, feeling energized. He got on his feet and looked at the storm of electricity before him. "Go Hitmonlee!" Dorme sent him on the attack. Hitmonlee dashed forward, just as Furball's thunder storm died down. "Blaze kick!" Before Exeggutor could recover, Hitmonlee delivered a devastating blow that knocked him out completely. "Well done, Hitmonlee!"

"No way! Exeggutor return!" Kirameki looked frustrated and angry, her deadly glare a far cry from the delicate and serene expression the gym leader was said to always wear.

"It's not over yet!" Daala's voice rung out furiously. "Venusaur, earthquake!" 

The ground began to shake violently. Furball was lightheaded from all the energy he used and couldn't react right away. "Hitmonlee, grab that cat and jump, go for the final strike, hi jump kick!" Dorme urgently commanded. Hitmonlee scooped Furball into his arms, taking the beginning to the earthquake's effects on by himself. Then he jumped and with the last of his energy aimed his final kick at the center of Venusaur's head. Exhausted from the effort and from all the damage he took, Hitmonlee fainted at Venusaur's feet, but his last effort was not in vain.

"Venusaur, finish this, tackle them!" Daala urged.

Furball didn't have any more energy to give after the series of massive electric attacks he released. But he could still use his claws, even if he was exhausted. "Furball, slash Venusaur to bits!" Before Venusaur could recover from the daze of Hitmonlee's kick, Furball went on a relentless attack with the last of his energy. Venusaur cried out in pain, but was unable to defend herself and finally succumbed to defeat. Furball was left breathing heavily, barely able to stand after the great strain, but he was feeling satisfied. "Yes! We won!" Ashimi cheered, her voice mixing with Zero and Pichu, and even Dorme joined the victorious celebration.

Kirameki slipped away while they were enjoying their victory and it was Daala who got their attention. "Well done, but your victory will be short lived. Go Houndour, set this whole green house of a gym aflame!" Leaving a wall of fire to cover her exit, Daala made her escape through the gym's back door.

"Hitmonlee, return!" Dorme hastily called back her pokemon.

"Furball return!" Ashimi recalled her pokemon as well, and called out another one. Squirtle, I choose you!" The flames were spreading fast, with plenty of plants that made perfect fuel for the fire. Squirtle squeaked in fright and retreated into his shell. "You've got to be kidding me, not now!"

"Never mind the gym, we need to get out of here!" Dorme urged, coughing with the smoke. She dashed towards the front doors of the gym only to find them locked. "Why is this closed? Where did Kirameki disappeared to anyway?" They had been so focused on Daala's attack that they haven't thought to look for the gym leader.

"Maybe you can knock the door down with a pokemon?" Zero suggested. 

"I can knock it down myself!" Dorme attacked the door with a series of hard kicks and forced it open. "I guess Thor's training paid off after all, but I still hate that guy. Hey, Ashimi, let's get moving!"

"I can't!" Ashimi was heading deeper into the spreading flames, with an uncooperative Squirtle in her arms. "I heard someone calling for help, maybe Kirameki is still in here after all."

"I thought she was the one who ran off and locked us in. Daala went the other way so it couldn't have been her," Dorme rushed to join Ashimi despite her arguments. "We have to get out now."

"Ashimi, are you sure you didn't just hear Daala trying to confuse you?" Zero guessed.

"No, I'm sure I," Ashimi coughed through the smoke. "I'm sure I heard someone. Chari, I choose you!" The Charmeleon emerged from her pokeball. "You're a fire type, so the heat won't bother you as much. There's someone trapped here, could you get them out? I think the voice came from that way." Chari nodded and dashed through the flames in the direction Ashimi pointed. 

Fed up with the situation and Squirtle's inaction, Pichu hopped into Squirtle's shell and shocked him out. The little turtle jumped right out of his shell, leaving a surprised Ashimi holding the empty shell. In his panic, Squirtle started shooting his water gun in every direction, soon diminishing the flames. Chari returned from her rescue mission, helping Kirameki make her way to them. Fortunately, Squirtle's wild water gun rampage proved to be strong enough to put out the rest of the flames. Chari looked at the empty shell her trainer held, blinked in confusion, then looked at Squirtle. Their eyes met for a moment before Chari closed her eyes and covered her face. Squirtle turned bright pink, then rushed back into his shell where he hid. 

"I didn't even know Squirtle could do that..." Dorme finally voiced.

"I believe it is rare, but yes, a few Squirtle have been found to be able to come out of their shell completely. In this case it's not surprising because the shell is fake," Zero explained.

"Fake?!" Ashimi loudly exclaimed. 

"Yeah, maybe his original shell was broken by an accident or a bigger and tougher pokemon who tried to make him dinner," Zero theorized. "Maybe that's why he's so scared."

"A shell-less traumatized Squirtle, you sure got the short end of the stick with that one," Dorme laughed.

"Maybe he'll grow a new shell when he evolves into Wartortle." Ashimi hoped so for Squirtle's sake. She only got a glimpse, but that scar on his back looked nasty, the poor dear must have suffered a lot at such a young age. 'Maybe this Squirtle was given to me on purpose to see how well I could train him,' Ashimi thought. "Don't worry Squirtle, I'll help you conquer your fear and you'll be strong!' With that promise in her heart, Ashimi return Squirtle to his pokeball.

"Well I guess you learned not to hire someone like Daala," Dorme huffed.

"What are you talking about?" Kirameki looked both frightened and confused.

Upon taking a second look, Dorme noticed something that would have been obvious if not for all the oddities going on. "Your kimono is a different color."

Chari gave a short explanation, which Zero translated. "Chari says this girl was tied up when she found her."

"Then the one we battled did escape the gym through the front doors," Dorme realized.

"I don't know what's going on," Kirameki softly voiced. "There was a red haired girl, she attacked me. I tried to fight her off, but she knocked out my pokemon, then she knocked me out too. When I woke up I was tied up and the gym was up in flames!"

"A red haired girl..." Ashimi mused aloud.

"Not like you, her hair was crimson red instead of red-orange," Kirameki clarified. 

"She must have been the fake Kirameki, a wig and a kimono was all it took to trick us. I can't believe they got away," Dorme frowned in frustration. 

"But we beat them in battle!" Ashimi tried to look at the positive side.

Kirameki let out a tired breath. "At least it's all over. I thank you for saving me and putting the fire out. It looks like I'll have a lot of rebuilding to do around here. It's not much, but please accept these rainbow badges as a token of my gratitude. It sounds like you beat the trainer who was able to beat me, so you've more than earned them." The rightful Celadon gym leader pulled out two badges from the sleeves of her kimono and gave them to Ashimi and Dorme. Though Dorme wasn't there for a badge, she accepted it anyway and just played along, while Ashimi made a victorious pose. The Celadon gym would be closed for a while for repairs, but at least the real Kirameki wasn't injured and her pokemon would recover.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 12: I'll Fight For You

Ashimi, Dorme and Zero returned to the Celadon pokemon center, where their pokemon were allowed to rest and recover. The two girls and Zero settled into one of the rooms to talk. "After Hitmonlee is ready to go, I'll be leaving," Dorme announced. "It looks like our rematch will have to wait."

Ashimi looked into the other girl's eyes. "What do you know about all of this?" She glanced at Zero, "and you?"

Zero shrugged, "don't look at me, I haven't been sent to investigate anyone, I just hang around."

Ashimi turned her questioning eyes back towards Dorme, who sighed. "I've been following Daala because of her actions as a sort of vigilante and more so because of her vendetta against Team Rocket. I don't think it's anything personal, but rather she's one of those people who just doesn't want Team Rocket to rule and made it her business to disrupt the organization. We think that Daala is part of a group and I've been tracking her while keeping a certain distance, trying to catch her in the act of contacting her allies."

"Who's we?" Ashimi interrupted, noting the plural when Dorme mentioned the group theory.

"The higher ups at Team Rocket," Dorme revealed. "Of course, something like this wouldn't slip under the radar. I've heard rumors of a gang from Giovanni's past that resurfaced years later and wasn't noticed until they caused trouble. Team Rocket won't make the same mistake twice, the executive board is keeping an eye on this matter."

"Tempest..." Ashimi quietly voiced. "That was the name of the gang from long ago, I've been told the stories. But grandpa made sure to hunt down every last one of them. Plus it was a long time ago, many of them would have passed away by now and the few that are left will spend the last of their days in jail. Do you think this is related to those stories?"

"No, that was a lesson learned, this is something new," Dorme explained. "The group is believed to still be very small and Team Rocket's not the only one tracking them. Sabrina's organization, the Espers, has been involved as well, but to what extent, not even the Rocket executives know."

"What about the girl with crimson hair?" Ashimi inquired further.

"She's another suspicious person I've been investigating," Dorme revealed. "Up until now, I had thought she and Dorme were working separately, but I guess my theory was wrong. They're pretty misleading, those two, especially the redhead, really slippery. As if I need another reason to dislike redheads," Dorme half joked.

Before Ashimi could retort, there was a knock on the door, so she instead ended up saying, "come in."

Nurse Joy entered with Pichu and the pokeballs that held the other pokemon. "Here you are, they're all better now. Don't stay up too late," Joy left after hearing a chorus of assurances that they would go to bed early, which she was well aware were not true.

As per her habit during her time of rest before going to sleep, Ashimi let all of her pokemon out of their pokeballs while Dorme clipped her pokeballs to her belt. Clefable didn't attack her trainer this time, instead leaving the room silently through the window. She had heard everything going on at the Celadon gym from her pokeball. Even when Squirtle acted like a useless coward, despite being the best equipped to deal with the fire, Ashimi still didn't abandon him. Then she learned of Squirtle's impairments and instead of giving up on him and focusing on her strong pokemon, she vowed to make him overcome his limitations. Clefable was starting to think that Ashimi wasn't so bad after all. The feelings of sympathy and, she barely dared to think it, admiration, she had developed for the human were confusing. Maybe she'd feel better after she cleared her head, so Clefable decided to go for a walk.

"Where's she going?" Dorme wondered in curiosity.

"Around, I suppose," Ashimi shrugged. "She'll probably be back after a walk, if she wanted to run away she could have done so by now, I don't lock my pokeballs anyway."

Dorme didn't quite understand the situation. Ashimi seemed to have an odd relationship with some of her pokemon. Zero settled into a corner for some quiet debugging time, while Dorme headed to the window. She might as well go out through there instead of having to be seen leaving by Joy and be told she should be getting some sleep instead. "I'll be going now."

"Don't you want to wait until morning?" Ashimi offered.

"Nah, I really don't have a minute to waste. I need to crack this case and get the information back to Team Rocket," Dorme climbed out the window. "I also need to think of what to say in my progress report."

"You know about Daala's connection with the redhead, you know what at least some of their pokemon are and you know about their battle tactics," Ashimi reminded. "You've made plenty of progress right there. I'm sure that must count for something!"

Dorme was surprised by Ashimi's suggestion. Because she hadn't accomplished the main purpose of her mission, to uncover any other members of the supposed anti-Rocket group Daala was thought to be a part of, she hadn't thought about the progress that she did make. "You're right, I'll make sure to mention that."

After Dorme left, Ashimi packed up her purchases, mailing the gifts away to their proper destinations as well as sending her own collectibles home. She carried the boxes out of the room with some help from Zero and her pokemon. Conveniently, the pokemon centers operated a package delivery service. Their logo was an envelope with a pokeball to signify mail and the pokemon center. They also had mail boxes scattered around that could hold small packages. The logo was ironic because no one really used paper to mail written messages anymore and pokemon were transferred digitally, they were stored that way as well since long term digitalization was mastered.

When Ashimi, Zero and the pokemon returned to their room, they found that the glass of the window had been pushed closed, though it was still unlocked. It was Zubat who noticed it first, when he wondered why the breeze that circulated through the room before had stopped. Taped to the window's glass there was an envelope, Zubat pointed it out, finding it to be suspicious.

"Envelope?" Zero looked to the window and spotted the small white envelope. "Ashimi, look at what Zubat found," he pointed.

"Huh?" Ashimi picked up the envelope. "Who left this here?" There was nothing written on the outside. She opened it and found pink fur and nail clippings. "What in Mew's name is this? Why would someone send me shaved fur and nail clippings? Oh there's a piece of paper in there too." She proceeded to read it aloud, "I have your Clefable, I was going to send you a finger as proof, but the fur and nail clippings will just have to do. If you want to see her alive again, come to the bakery in the backstreets of Cerulean City alone. Do not bring your pokemon." 

A wave of cries of alarm passed over the pokemon, but Ashimi was quick to calm them. "It's okay, it looks like there's no way I can have my journey separate from my life as a Rocket. I'm sure grandpa just sent someone to give me a test. Relax, neither Clefable, or me, or any of you for that matter, are in real danger. Well, I might be in danger of getting scolded if I fail and that is scary, but I'm not in mortal danger and I have no intentions of failing anyway. Stay here with Zero, everyone. I'll get to Cerulean in a taxi, I'll leave early in the morning and call you when it's all over. Johnny will probably be done with his Rocket business by then, so I'll likely catch a ride back with him. No worries, I'll be back before you know it."

xoxox xox xoxox

The next morning, Ashimi left Celadon City early. Zero and the pokemon remained at the center to await her return. Though she looked confident, Pichu had a bad feeling about this that spread to the other pokemon and Zero. "There is a way to stay informed," the virtual boy realized. "I'll send an email and ask Laiki about what's going on. She has all the latest gossip, so she should know about what kind of test Ashimi will be facing."

With the email sent, it was only a matter of waiting for a reply. The answer did eventually come, but it wasn't what Zero had expected. "I got a reply..." Pichu, Furball, Chari, Zubat and Squirtle looked at Zero expectantly, with various degrees of curiosity. His lack of enthusiasm didn't sit well with the most perceptive of the team. 

Zero recited the email he had received, leaving out the silly salutation of 'hi cutie-chibi!' which carried an excessive seven exclamation points. "I haven't heard about Ashimi being tested recently. I thought Giovanni was pleased with her journey's progress and the dedication and resourcefulness she has shown so far. Last I heard he rewarded her with a nice monetary sum to commemorate her victories. Though he is planning to test her later, I have no knowledge of any tests being scheduled for the present time. Has something happened? Be careful, there are some very sneaky anti-Rockets on the loose." Zero stopped there as the ending signature of 'love, aunty Laiki,' didn't add any relevant information to what he was trying to communicate.

The door to the room suddenly opened without warning and Jonathan entered with a greeting of, "hey Ashy, I'm back." He paused, looking around the room and wondering if he had entered the wrong one. But no, it had to be where Ashimi was staying, there was Pichu and her other pokemon.

Chari let out a stream of what sounded to Johnny like repetitions of her species' name with the syllables varying in order in some occasions. Her tone was rather scolding and she waved her clawed index finger back and forth at him. Zero translated, "Chari is saying you can't just barge into a girl's room without knocking."

"Sorry... Where is Ashimi anyway? And who are you?" Jonathan asked.

Zero answered Jonathan's question in the clearest and most summarized manner he could. He quickly explained who and what he was, leaving out the part about his system's instability and got him up to date on the latest happenings about Ashimi's pokemon and her battles. His explanation ended with the discovery of trickery and Clefable having been kidnapped for real. "We just figured that out when you got here."

"Then there's no time to waste, we have to catch up with Ashy!" Jonathan hurried out of the pokemon center along with Zero and the pokemon. Zero put most of the pokemon back in their pokeballs for easier transportation, save for Pichu. They hurried into the indigo sports convertible and rushed out of Celadon City.

xoxox xox xoxox

Passing through Saffron City on their way to Cerulean, Jonathan and Zero found someone they recognized between the two cities. There on the side of the road, Dorme was having a battle against Daala. "Don't give up, Oddish, attack with petal dance!"

"Roll away Donphan, tackle that annoying little plant!" Daala knew that Donphan was badly poisoned and wouldn't be able to continue fighting for long. She had expected to face her Hitmonlee again. Then Dorme surprised her with an unusually strong Oddish. The everstone on the pokemon's circlet had been properly disguised and didn't really look like an everstone.

"Give it everything you have, aim for the sides!" Oddish's sharp petals surrounded Donphan, cutting him on the sides of his body were he didn't have as much tough armor.

The force of the attack combined with the continuous strain of the poison finally pushed Donphan over the edge and he fainted. "Donphan!" The pokemon did not get up and was recalled into his pokeball, to be replaced with a new combatant. "Return... Go Houndour, flamethrower!"

"Oddish, watch out!" Oddish was tired from her battle with Donphan. She had to keep moving constantly and make an effort to get through his armor. Facing the element her kind was weak against was not something she was prepared to do in her condition. She dodged as fast as she could, but Houndour took a big breath and let out another burst of flames that spread out like a fan and finally caught up to Oddish. "Oddish return! Go Hitmonlee!"

"Enough of this..." Daala glared. "Venusaur!"

"That's not fair!" Dorme complained.

"Go Foxtrot, flamethrower!" The Flareon rushed into battle with a massive fire attack aimed at Venusaur.

"Johnny!" Dorme happily exclaimed. Without warning she jumped on him, nearly tackling him to the ground on the side of the road.

Johnny stumbled back, taken by surprise, then steadied his feet, a bit red in the face from the close proximity. "Um... Where's Ashy?" He finally managed to ask.

Dorme pushed him back, holding him at arm's length and glared straight into his eyes. "What did you just ask?" Her hands moved from his shoulders to his neck.

One false move and she'd be gripping his throat with everything she had. "No-nothing?" There was an uncomfortable pause and her fingers twitched. He slowly began to raise his arms to get a hold of her wrists and free himself, but her grip increased and he froze. "Dorme..."

Seeing as Jonathan and Dorme were caught up in their own business and Daala wasn't willing to wait for them to resolve their differences, Zero decided to take action. "Pichu, Furball, double thunderbolt!"

The massive burst of electricity caught Dorme and Jonathan's attention and she finally let her arms fall to her sides. The situation was not in Daala's favor, she was outnumbered and the Rockets didn't look happy.

Jonathan cleared his throat and pretended he didn't just narrowly avoid death. "Daala, where is..." He glanced at Dorme from the corner of his eyes and finished, "Clefable?"

"What?" Both Daala and Dorme expressed a chorus of confusion.

"Didn't you kidnap Clefable?" Jonathan inquired.

"I prefer not to involve pokemon like that." Daala frowned in disapproval, her so called ally had acted on her own, even if Daala had told her not to go through with the kidnapping. Despite sharing a common purpose against Team Rocket, the two girls occasionally had their differences.

"What's this about?" Dorme interjected.

"Clefable got kidnapped and," Jonathan took a step back, away from Dorme before speaking the A name. "Ashy went to look for her, she's heading right into a trap at Cerulean City."

"Clefable was taking a walk alone when I left Ashimi at the pokemon center. I spotted Daala a little further ahead and followed her, she couldn't have kidnapped Clefable," Dorme revealed. "As for Ashimi, I haven't seen her. Go play knight for her if you want, it's not like she appreciates it anyway!"

Daala watched the scene unfold for a moment longer before recalling her pokemon into their pokeballs and breaking into a run. Pichu and Furball looked at Zero, who shrugged and let her go.

"Dorme..." Jonathan's expression turned serious. "I know Ashy doesn't need anyone protecting her. That's what she thought I was doing and that's what we argued about. I trust Ashy, I know she can take care of herself, but I still want to be there for her, and that goes for you too!" Dorme gave him a doubtful look. "I was looking for Ashy, but I would have stopped to battle at your side anyway. Ashy's my childhood friend, that's all there is to it. If the two of you would just get along then I..." He trailed off into silence, would he return Dorme's feelings then? If he did, would Ashimi still continue to hold the first priority even if he was dating Dorme? Would that be okay? He didn't know the answer to any of those questions and he didn't want to think about it right now.

Dorme laughed with a bittersweet tone. She let out a breath, closed her eyes and relaxed her shoulders as if in resignation. "One day a realization will hit you and you'll see her as more than a childhood friend. Then you'll realize something else." She slowly lifted her head and looked into his eyes, "she's unobtainable."

A cold chill ran down Jonathan's spine, he remained silent for a few heavy seconds until he finally snapped out of his trance. "Don't say such silly things, Dorme, you know I don't look at Ashy that way..."

"Yet," Dorme recalled Hitmonlee and ran off to continue in Daala's pursuit as the first few drops of rain began to fall from the cloudy skies. It wasn't storming, it was only raining.

"Such drama," Zero yawned. Jonathan decided it was best not to comment on the subject any further and silently got back in the car. Furball returned to his pokeball and Pichu hopped on Zero's head. Then once again, they were on their way to Cerulean City.

xoxox xox xoxox

After what felt like the longest trip of her life, Ashimi finally arrived at the bakery in the backstreets of Cerulean City, under a light rain. She didn't take time off during the trip, though she had started out feeling confident and even waited until morning to leave Celadon City. A cold feeling crept into her being along the way and she felt compelled to rush to the scene of the test. It felt like an odd place for a test, but she would find out what it was like in a moment. The taxi left her at her destination and she walked into the bakery which had a closed sign on the door, but it was unlocked. The shelves were notably empty, devoid of the sweet treats they once held.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Ashimi walked around the counter and towards the door behind it. There was a small kitchen area there and a storage closet. She examined the closet and found a ladder leading to the basement. She went down into a dark tunnel, heading towards the light in the end, filtering through the half open door. She pushed the door open and it made a terrible screeching sound as it turned on its hinges.

There she was, a red haired girl with green eyes. Her eyes and hair were different, but she had the same facial features as the fake Kirameki. Ashimi wondered if her current appearance was also a disguise she could remove to blend in. There was something about the way she looked that didn't ring true. Then Ashimi realized it, it was the girl's hair, it was the same color as Jessie's hair, fixed into the same style. Ashimi blinked in confusion, who was this girl and why was she copying Jessie? She couldn't be a part of Team Rocket if she was Daala's ally. This wasn't a test, it was a trap. The mysterious girl grinned with a confident glare. Her eyes were the same color as James, but the look in them was distinctly different, bitter. "So you're finally here," the crimson haired girl spoke.

They stood in a simple basement with gray unpainted walls and a crude table to the side. Next to it there was a level on the wall. On the opposite side there was a stained old cloth covering a section of the wall and it was slightly moving as if breathing uneasily. Switching between looking at the cloth and the crimson haired girl at fast intervals, Ashimi finally asked, "who are you?"

"Jaina Joan Kojiro," the name was spoken bitterly as if it was a reminder of betrayal.

Ashimi stared at the girl. "Kojiro," she whispered. "That's Johnny's last name, it's his father's last name, but you're copying his mother's hair."

"I'm not copying anyone," Jaina insisted. "This is simply what I look like."

"Liar!" Ashimi shouted. "I know you were pretending to be Kirameki. You think you can trick me by pretending to be Johnny's relative? He comes from a family of loyal Rockets! Even his grandmother, Miyamoto, is remembered as one of the greatest Rockets who was there from the very beginning!"

"What about his father? Do you know his story?" Jaina growled as if the issue was personal.

Ashimi hadn't heard anything from James' family. As far as she knew he was the first generation to become a Rocket in his line. But what did it matter? Jessie and James were people her parents trusted and they were loyal, as was their son. "I have no doubts of his loyalty either."

"You know nothing!" Jaina shouted, "it doesn't matter though, you're about to learn the hard way what Team Rocket really is!" She pulled the cloth off the wall to reveal Clefable. The pink pokemon was strapped to the wall with metal cuffs on her arms and legs that prevented the use of her powers. She looked badly beaten and had a very strange collar around her neck with odd lights and circuitry.

"Clefable!" Ashimi ran to her and started pulling on the cuffs in a futile effort to free her. "I'm sorry I took so long to get here, I'm really sorry!" Ashimi cried. 'If only I haven't assumed this was a test, if only I haven't waited until morning before starting out,' she regretted.

"You can't win," Jaina laughed. "You don't have any pokemon with you," she took note of the lack of pokeballs on Ashimi's belt. Her bag had been left behind with Zero as well, since she didn't expect the trip to take too long. "If you want to leave, the price will be that pokemon's life. Show your true colors and sacrifice her for your own sake. If you kill her I'll let you go and if you don't," Jaina pulled out the whip that was wrapped around her waist, as she stretched it out, it became electrified. "I'll kill you."

Ashimi clenched her teeth in frustration, how could she had fallen for this trick? How could she had assumed her enemies would let her rest after their latest battle? "Don't worry Clefable, I'll get you out of here alive, I promise."

"Idiot," much to Ashimi's surprise, Clefable spoke.

"That collar is a special piece of technology, isn't it? I'm sure Team Rocket has their own version, but why would they make it public? They like their pokemon as slaves without the ability to communicate with humans. Sadly, this one couldn't tell me anything useful," Jaina mocked. She saw that Ashimi was tense and trembling. Mistaking the fury for fear, she swung her electric whip and hit Ashimi on the back.

The damage was notable, but Ashimi refused to acknowledge it. "You hurt Clefable to get information?" She was furious. "Information that she didn't even know?!" Jaina's only reply was a cruel chuckle. "You'll pay for this!" Ashimi glared with an incessant fury in her eyes, much like her grandfather in his younger days.

Jaina took an involuntary step back, then steeled her resolve and attacked with her whip while Ashimi charged towards her. The whip caught Ashimi on the shoulder and she stumbled in pain, but regained her balance and continued her attack. Jaina rushed to pull the whip back and swing it again, she couldn't fully do so on time and instead swung it low, hitting Ashimi's legs. The distance between them was closed and Ashimi grabbed the whip's handle with both hands, intent on ripping it out of the other girl's grasp. If she didn't disarm her, she wouldn't be able to last in the fight for much longer.

Jaina let go of the whip and kicked Ashimi away in the stomach. Ashimi fell to the floor completely out of breath, with the whip in her hands. It was a good weapon and the fact that Jaina gave it up so easily made every mental alarm in her head go off. Jaina pulled out a small controller and in the same split second, Ashimi threw the whip back at her. It was too late for Jaina to avoid the hit, she had already activated the self destruct detonator and the weapon exploded as it reached her. "Not bad," Jaina growled. "Now we're both injured, but I'm still stronger."

"Yeah, well I'm faster," Ashimi challenged, "and I have Clefable!"

"That useless creature?" Jaina laughed cruelly. "That thing couldn't save you if it wanted to!"

'Why?' Clefable thought frantically, 'why doesn't she try to escape? Why doesn't she save herself?' For the first time Clefable was willing to fight for Ashimi, but she couldn't.

"That's not true," Ashimi tried to steady her gasping breaths and ignore the pain. "Things look different in the heat of battle, but Clefable has a clear view. Clefable, I'm not as strong as my opponent, but that won't matter if she can't actually hit me, so please guide me and I'll set you free!" Ashimi went on the attack again.

'Guide her?' Clefable stared at her trainer in shock. 'What am I supposed to...' "Watch out for her kick!" Ashimi jumped back, narrowly avoiding having her feet swept out from under her. 'I... I see it, there's a pattern to her fighting style, can Ashimi see it too? No, she's too focused on fighting.' "Dodge left! Dodge right! Punch!"

Ashimi's hit connected with Jaina's face and she stumbled back, but didn't fall. Jaina recovered very quickly and kicked Ashimi away. "I told you, I'm stronger than you, there's no way you can overpower me!" 

Ashimi could barely get up, but she pushed herself to her feet. 'Wait a minute, that's it, I understand what Ashimi was trying to tell me!' Clefable realized. "Get up Ashimi, victory is close!"

"Ha! That stupid pokemon is delusional!" Jaina went on the attack again.

"Move to the right, dodge, kick, go back, back!" Clefable called out. Ashimi had managed to get a few hits in with her advantage in speed, but Jaina was simply too strong for her, until she reached her goal. "It's right behind you, kick backwards high!"

When Ashimi followed Clefable's instruction, her true plan became clear. The whole fight had been a distraction to reach the level on the wall. It was the only clearly visible mechanism in the room and the cuffs on Clefable didn't look like they used any type of key. The cuffs on Clefable opened, but Ashimi was trapped in a corner. Before Jaina could strike, Clefable went on an all out attack, punching, kicking and biting. Jaina pushed the pokemon away, only to be lifted by Clefable's telekinetic force that sent her crashing against the wall. The crimson haired girl lost consciousness on impact and slid down the wall to the floor, motionless.

Clefable tried to speak, but the exposed circuitry of her collar was damaged and her words once again sounded to human ears as repetitions of her name. She quieted and tried again, before finally removing the damaged collar and glaring at it in frustration. "It's okay Clefable," Ashimi assured. "I know what you want to say," she smiled.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 10: Though Ashimi does tend to rush in on many occasions, she is also capable of planning and plotting when the side of her that takes after Giovanni surfaces. 

Chapter 11: Dorme's mention of an oversized sword is a reference to the various mercenary video game characters who like to carry big swords... I never get tired of them. In Bulbapedia, Hitmonlee's attack appears listed as hi jump kick rather than high jump kick, it's probably because of the character limit or something, but I decided to go with the name from the game. As with my previous story, I've been using Bulbapedia for reference information for the battles and some creative license for the attacks like they do in the anime. Many thanks to the people who contribute and maintain Bulbapedia, I wouldn't be able to write pokemon battles with more than a few tired old attacks without it.

Chapter 12: Dorme is the daughter of Domino, so of course she'd get some pretty important missions. The girl's got connections, but that's not to say she isn't strong on her own. She is both a talented pokemon trainer, and skilled in martial arts. 

xoxox xox xoxox

Characters

The crimson haired girl: A mysterious girl who calls herself Jaina Joan Kojiro. She seems to be allied to Daala, though they don't always agree, they are both anti-Rocket. She claims to have a connection with Johnny's family, but tricky as she is, no one knows if there's some truth to it, or if it's just another of her lies.


	5. Part 5

Awakening

Chapter 13: Siblings

Jonathan dashed into the basement of the bakery at Cerulean City, followed by Zero and the pokemon. Pichu, Furball, Chari, Zubat and even Squirtle rushed to Ashimi in a chorus of concern. "Ashy?" Jonathan asked unsure. To inquire if she was okay felt stupid, given how bruised she was.

"The situation is under control," she pointed at the unconscious Jaina.

Jonathan noticed the girl, his eyes going wide. He remembered her, she got him out of a jam when the police nearly caught him during one of his Rocket missions. He was surprised by her resemblance to his mother and wondered if she was a cousin he never knew about. She was very mysterious and did not give him a name to inquire about, but she did say she would tell him who she was when they met again. Had it all been a set up for a trick that she never put into action, or an elaborate ruse that was yet to come to full fruition? "Did she do this to you?"

"Yeah, but Clefable and I showed her. See? I can take care of myself, even if it may not look it right now, trust me, I'm okay." She was terribly sore, Ashimi had to admit, so saying she was okay was a stretch, but she knew she would be.

"I know... I know you can take care of yourself, but friends take care of each other too," Jonathan reminded.

"Yeah..." Ashimi laughed at the irony. 'So much for proving my competence, I didn't need to after all.'

Jaina began to wake up and found Jonathan staring at her. "I think it's time you told me who you are, like you said you would."

"You've seen her before?" Ashimi was surprised to hear about it.

"I have..." Jonathan admitted. "It was during a mission for Team Rocket. I almost got caught by the police, but she helped me out. I thought she was a Rocket too, maybe even a relative of mine, but then I realized she wasn't a Rocket."

"Not so sure on the relative part, are you?" Jaina slowly got to her feet.

"She's a master of disguise," Ashimi warned. "She pretended to be the Celadon gym leader, Kirameki, and was working with Daala. She tried to kill Dorme and me!"

"Just you, granddaughter of Giovanni," Jaina clarified. "Killing the Rocket girl as well would have been a mere bonus."

"Now I know that no matter what you look like we can't be related," Jonathan glared angrily. "I come from a family of loyal Rockets and you're clearly not one of us!"

"Oh, but I am..." Jaina argued. "I am your twin sister, Jaina Joan Kojiro."

Jonathan's bitterness increased, "liar! My sister is dead!"

"Look at me, brother, I am your twin..." Jaina insisted, her voice turning soft, almost pleading. "Do you not feel it?"

A strange feeling overcame Jonathan and he found himself doubting his conviction. Was this girl really his sister? Had her early death been a lie? No, he couldn't allow himself such thoughts. "I won't fall for your lies!" Jonathan shouted. "You have a lot to answer for..."

Another set of footsteps was heard as Dorme arrived. "It looks like I'm too late. Oh my Mew! Ashimi, look at you! You're going to need ten pounds of makeup to cover up all those bruises. I've got to give you some martial arts training some time."

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Ashimi smiled.

"Dorme?" Jonathan blinked in confusion. "Ashy? Did I miss something?"

"What? You really think we can't be both rivals and friends?" Dorme placed one hand on her hip, waving her other index finger back and forth. "I'll have you know we have a respectable rivalry, even though Ashimi is unaware of it."

"I am?" Ashimi tilted her head in confusion. "We're rivals in pokemon training, aren't we? I'm aware of that, what more is there to it?"

"See what I mean," Dorme sighed.

"I don't get it, I only used to dislike you because you kept trying to make me leave whenever you saw me," Ashimi mused aloud. It was actually whenever she was seen with Jonathan, but she seemed to miss that detail. "But you don't do that anymore and you are a good pokemon trainer, so..."

"That's okay, I know how the story will go, it's fine, I can wait my turn." Leaving the statement hanging for only Jonathan to understand, Dorme turned her attention to the crimson haired girl. "As for you... You've crossed the line and I'm taking you in, I'm sure the Rocket interrogators will have fun with their new assignment."

"I don't care," Jaina frowned in hopelessness. "I would never tell you anything even if I knew, but there's nothing to know. Tornado has no base of operations, no list of members. We are identified by our hatred for Team Rocket and nothing more. We know each other by our actions, we are not a mere organization, we are a state of mind!"

"A state of brainwashing I would say," Jonathan differed.

The sound of sirens outside caught their attention. "The police!" Dorme exclaimed, "such bad timing!"

"Do you think Kirameki sent them to investigate Jaina?" Ashimi referred to her as such, since she didn't know her by any other name.

Dorme did not correct her, if Jaina had another name, she was not aware of it. "Maybe, they must have gotten tips from people who saw her coming this way. They'll probably want to arrest her and maybe even us."

"Lets retreat," Ashimi decided. She could hear several sets of feet shuffling about upstairs. "Chari, weaken the walls with your fire until they give way!" Chari did so, until one of the walls was no more. The room was a basement, thus underground, hence beyond the wall there was the ground. "Squirtle, soften up that dirt with your water just enough to make it easier to dig through. "Squirtle got to work, at least the situation wasn't as scary as the last time he was asked to do something. "Chari, Pichu, Furball, Clefable, Squirtle, all together now, dig a tunnel! Zubat, give them direction, detect the best path to the surface."

"Go Foxtrot, help them out!" Though Jonathan had only called out his Flareon, Nya, the young Purrloin, popped out of her pokeball also, wanting to help. She began to dig and threw a bit of mud up, the mud ball landed on her head, making her squeak in surprise, as if the law of gravity wasn't an everyday thing. She began to wipe the mud off but only succeeded in spreading it.

"Hitmonlee, Oddish, dig too!" Dorme looked back at Jaina, who clearly wasn't invited to tag along in their escape, they didn't have time to try to make her cooperate along the way. Jaina doubted the police could hold her for long, the crimson haired girl wasn't obstructing their escape because she knew she would have an easier time getting away if she went with the police alone.

"Foxtrot, cover our escape with fire!" Just as Jonathan's Flareon closed off the tunnel at least temporarily with a curtain of fire, Jenny and a few other officers made it to the basement, along with a few police trained Growlithe. They didn't know if there was an armed ambush waiting for them, so they had proceeded slowly and carefully.

Leaving Jaina behind to be arrested, Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme, Zero and the pokemon reached another wall within the tunnel, following Zubat's directions. The wall was broken in a similar fashion to the one before and they stepped into another tunnel. The new tunnel had walls and flooring, though it was dirty and smelled very bad. Foul smelling pipes ran along the tunnel, further confirming the fact that it was a sewer. "It's only a matter of time before the police comes this way, lets get out of here!" Ashimi urged.

"Ugh, you don't have to tell me twice, this place stinks!" Dorme covered her nose.

"Approaching Muk and Grimer detected!" Zero announced. "They're coming from both sides of the tunnel."

"All the more reason to move!" Jonathan hurried along with the group. He had picked up Nya and held her at arm's length by the scruff of her neck, "Meowth would fury swipe me into ribbons if he saw how dirty you are." The police would certainly get a nasty surprise once they got past the firewall and investigated the tunnel. 

A big stinky Muk approached, growling at the group. Nya let out a stream of words that sounded like variations of Purrloin and feline noises, but came out as words to pokemon ears. The Muk smiled, gave an enthusiastic reply and stepped aside to reveal a ladder leading up to a manhole on the street above.

The group recalled their pokemon and climbed up to the street, grateful that they didn't have to deal with the Muk after all. "I wonder what the deal with the Muk was. I thought he was going to attack us," Ashimi took in a big breath of fresh air, now that they were finally out of the stinky sewers. 

"Nya asked him politely to let us through," Zero explained. "The Muk said, sure, anything for a cute little Grimer like you." 

"I don't know if I should laugh at how clueless that Muk is or grimace at the fact that I'm not the only one who thinks Nya's dirty enough to look like a Grimer," Jonathan's expression was distinctly sour. "It's going to take forever to clean up her fur." 

"We're not exactly presentable ourselves," Dorme frowned at the amount of mud and dirt that clung to her. "Let's get to the pokemon center and get cleaned up, or maybe Ashimi's place?"

"Pokemon center," Ashimi insisted. "I don't want mom to see me like this, she'll make a big fuss about it and it'll only make her worry."

"Alright, the pokemon center it is, you better clean your cuts before you get an infection. I can help out with that and Johnny can clean the pokemon in the mean time," Dorme suggested.

"You just want to get out of bathing the muddy pokemon," Jonathan noted. Dorme made no efforts to deny it and only grinned. They looked to the sky as they walked. It wasn't raining anymore and there was a rainbow over the sunset. Things felt as if they were getting complicated, but somehow they knew they could face whatever came their way.

xoxox xox xoxox

At the Cerulean pokemon center, Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Zero excused themselves with the local Joy by saying they had a nasty encounter with a gang of Muk and Grimer. Though she was clearly disgusted by their dirt and odor, the nurse felt sorry for them and let them get cleaned up. They settled into a guest room to rest, resorting to continue the journey in the morning. Ashimi had so far won four gym badges: boulder, marsh, thunder and rainbow. The earth badge would be the last and the cascade badge the second to last, as per her plans, so the next logical step would be to head towards Fuchsia City for a soul badge. "Let's take the Lavender Town route this time around, I haven't been in Lavender for a long time," Ashimi decided. She was all cleaned up and bandaged, though the blackened bruises were still clearly visible.

"I have to be on my way again in the morning to try to get information from Daala. I'm starting to think that the whole thing about Tornado not having a base of operations or a physical list of members is true. That would explain why I haven't been able to find much. I wonder if they even have a leader," Dorme theorized. "Anyway, someone has to make you presentable," she pointed at Ashimi. "I'll have to teach you to do your own makeup for when I'm not around. I'll get a good supply tomorrow morning, that way people won't ask too many questions until you stop looking so black and blue."

"I guess that would be useful," Ashimi admitted. "It was a pity her soreness couldn't be covered up so easily. She recalled something from earlier which she had been wondering about. "Johnny, about earlier, about Jaina..." Ashimi wasn't sure how to ask, and in the end decided to take the most obvious direct route and just say it. "Was there actually a real Jaina Joan, did you have a sister?"

"Yes," Jonathan replied.

Dorme's jaw dropped. "You have a sister?" She voiced in disbelief. "I thought I knew all the basic details about you, like your middle name being Jancen. How come I never knew about your sister? Actually, it sounds like Ashimi didn't know until recently either."

"Because I don't have a sister," Jonathan corrected. "I had a sister," he emphasized the past tense. Ashimi, Dorme and Zero silently waited for him to elaborate further. "Jaina was supposed to be my twin, but only I lived in the end. She was still-born, no one knows why, she was fine in all the tests, but her heart stopped beating around the time mom went into labor. Some doctors say mom's blood pressure went too high because of the urgency and nerves, some say Jaina tried to breath before she was out and choked and some say she was simply not ready, since mom gave birth a bit early. I just don't know what that girl wants to achieve pretending to be Jaina and dressing up to look like she's related to me."

"I don't get it either," Ashimi breathe. "I thought I was her target, and so far she's made that clear. If she had some sort of plan to get to me by pretending to be your sister, why didn't she just do it from the beginning?" 

"Um..." Dorme shifted uncomfortably. "There is no possibility that she could be your long lost sister, right?"

A heavy silence overtook the room until Jonathan finally spoke, "I don't think so..." To be perfectly honest, he didn't have a way to be certain. "I know the real Jaina has a grave in Lavender Town. Honestly, there are way too many grave yards there. I guess that doesn't really prove anything. They could have buried some other baby or maybe the grave is empty. But why would something like that even happen?"

"If you could test her DNA the answer would be clear," Zero logically suggested.

"And if she refuses the test, the answer will be clear too," Dorme continued. "Although, if she really wanted to use that to her advantage, she might go out of her way to make sure fake results are delivered."

"Honestly, I do get an odd feeling from her, a strange sense of familiarity. If I went with that I'd be inclined to believe her," Jonathan confessed. "But her actions speak too loudly, she's not a Rocket and my family are Rockets." The doubts haunted him, what if that girl was the real Jaina, what if she had been stolen from the hospital and pronounced dead for convenience's sake? What kind of life did she live? "If it were true... If it were actually true, and I found out who took her, who stole her life from her and turn her into what she is now..." He let the statement hang, but it was clear that the culprit would not meet a pleasant fate. Then he shook his head and reiterated, "I guess it doesn't really matter, because she's not my sister," she couldn't be... "She's just a liar," he wasn't sure why he even needed to convince himself of a fact that should have been clear. "She's definitely not related to me."

"Do you still want to go to Lavender Town?" Ashimi asked after a long silence.

Jonathan blinked as if the question came out of the blue. "Of course," he paused and smiled. "Relax, Ashy, I'm not going to suddenly be afraid of graveyards just because I saw my so called sister's ghost," he joked to lighten the mood. No more discussion was done that night save for pokemon battle small talk. They were all very tired and went to sleep early. 

xoxox xox xoxox

When morning rolled around, Dorme did Ashimi's makeup as promised. She did a pretty good job of hiding her bruises with thick foundation and powder. Ashimi admitted she felt a bit off with so much stuff on her face and the visible portions of her arms and legs, but she let it be. It was certainly easier to blend in by looking like a preteen who couldn't wait to look grown up, than like one who looked like she got on a Machoke's bad side. After some the girl time, Dorme left, once again parting ways with Ashimi, Jonathan and Zero, who headed towards Lavender Town.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 14: Resentment (Part 1)

Fortunately, the trip to Lavender Town went without interruptions. Ashimi, Jonathan and Zero arrived at the gloomy town without any problems. The sun might have been shining on that day, but the town's atmosphere remained dreary, as if a sad cloud constantly hung over it. There wasn't much to do there since the town had no gym, but Ashimi did get to challenge a few people to pokemon battles. Just as she was ready to take a break, someone suddenly called her name. 

"Lady Ashimi, I found you!" The boy collapsed on the street in front of her, as if he had been running non-stop for a very long time. "It looks like paying off Dorme to reveal your location was a good plan after all, I can't believe I didn't think of that sooner!" The light green haired teenager picked himself off the ground and glared at Jonathan, "of course you had to be here too, always getting in the way. The future madam boss only needs one knight at her side and that's me!" He very loudly declared.

Ashimi looked around, the people passing by were giving them odd looks. "Keep it down, Cloud, people are staring!"

"Cloud?" The boy shook his head. "That's not my name, but that's alright, you can call me whatever you like as long as you make me your right hand man! By the way, you look different, more grown up." Though it was probably just the makeup, as she couldn't have changed that much since the last time he saw her. He still saw it as an opportunity to score extra points and decided to compliment her. Cute was a girlish compliment and beautiful sounded more grown up but unoriginal and he needed something over the top. After a short pause, an idea finally hit him, "you look like the most badass supreme overlord-er-lady, the world could ever have!" 

Ashimi didn't even know how to respond to that, in fact, she wasn't even sure if it was meant to be a compliment or an odd kind of insult. Jonathan shook his head hopelessly, a certain amount of indignation reflected in his eyes. "I see you haven't changed, Tidus, always trying to climb the ranks in any way you can."

"That's not my name either!" The green haired boy growled. "But I don't care if you don't remember my name, you're an unworthy Rocket anyway. I should be the one taking on the role of Princess Ashimi's personal servant and body guard!"

"I'm neither of those things!" Jonathan argued.

"Ignore him, madam, allow me to prove myself to you!" The boy whose name no one could remember got down on one knee as if he was about to be knighted. 

Ashimi took a step back. "I think you're over doing it."

"I think he's funny in a pathetic sort of way," Zero smiled in a manner that was too cute to match the meanness of the statement, which was also ironically spoken in a cheery tone.

The boy looked up, scowling, "and here I thought I had odd eyes. He looks like a possessed doll, creepy!" He shuddered visibly.

"Hey!" Ashimi stepped forward in Zero's defense. "Little Zero is adorable and don't you dare insult him." She threw her arms around the little virtual boy, "he does look like a doll, that's part of his charm." Though Zero wasn't particularly happy to be referred to as a doll, he stuck his tongue out at the nameless teen and gave him a smug look anyway.

"I can be a doll too!" The boy argued. "I can be anything you want me to be, my lady!"

"Weirdo, try being normal," Ashimi grumbled.

"I am!" The boy insisted pleadingly.

"Why don't we just battle?" Without waiting for a reply, Jonathan called out his Flareon. "This way we can settle this once and for all, what do you say, Locke?" Jonathan finally suggested, his patience for the nonsense coming to an end.

"Fine! Let's battle, and my name's not Locke!" He threw a pokeball into combat, the red beam revealing a Tentacool. "Ha! I have the type advantage!"

"And I have every other advantage," Jonathan countered. "Foxtrot, fry that Tentacool, flamethrower!" The Flareon fearlessly attacked, with a burst of massive flames. 

"There's no way fire can beat water! Tentacool, water gun!" The boy whom everyone constantly called by a different name attacked with confidence.

"Go all the way, Foxtrot, keep the flames strong!" The fire pokemon intensified his attack and thus the amount of steam that came as a result was multiplied. Jonathan grinned, this had to be one of the oldest tricks in the book when it came to fire versus water. "Quick attack and tackle!"

"What?" Tentacool's trainer looked all around, but the steam was so thick that he couldn't see the battle. "Dodge, Tentacool! Or better yet, give that Flareon a water gun to the face!" As much as Tentacool wanted to do what he was told, he couldn't see a thing in the middle of that steam, as his water gun went off in every direction without reaching the fast moving target. Foxtrot's location only became apparent for Tentacool when he was tackled painfully. The steam dissipated, but it was already too late, Tentacool was already pinned to the sidewalk. "Water gun! Water gun! Water gun!" The trainer urged, waiving his arms around in desperation, as if the silly action would somehow make his pokemon stronger.

"Finish this, Foxtrot, use strength!" Jonathan watched in satisfaction as the battle continued to unfold. Tentacool tried to take in a breath to use a water gun, but Foxtrot kept smashing him against the floor and kicking him around, preventing the water pokemon from attacking. 

It all got to be too much and Tentacool soon fainted from all the punishment he received. "No way... You must have cheated!" Jonathan's rival accused. "How else would you explain this?"

Zero spoke up with an explanation that any current pokedex app could give, provided that the phone it was installed on had a power sensor. "On a scale of one to one hundred, Foxtrot is about twenty levels above Tentacool."

"But he's a fire type and Tentacool is a water type and... and... and..." 

"Give it up, Seifer, I'm not cheating, my pokemon is stronger than yours," Jonathan insisted.

"Just you wait!" He recalled Tentacool into his pokeball. "I'll train hard and get stronger and become Ashimi's right hand man!" He began to run away, only to stop a few steps away from the group and call back, "and my name is not Seifer either!" Then he continued to run away non-stop until he could no longer be seen in the distance.

An awkward silence hung in the air until Ashimi finally spoke. "Okay, who's up for some food?"

"I am!" Jonathan and Zero piped in at the same time. 

"Some electricity would be really nice too," Zero added.

"Let's go to that cyber cafe down the street, we can get food and find an outlet there," Ashimi suggested.

As the three walked to the cafe, they talked about all the odd creepy pasta stories surrounding the establishment and its supposed haunted computers. "Did you hear the one about the insanity inducing melody?" Jonathan began the tale. "If you're really quiet and listen closely, you'll hear an annoying little tune in a frequency you wouldn't normally notice with other sounds around. If you keep focusing on it, it'll slowly drive you crazy..."

xoxox xox xoxox

Overall, the day had gone well. Maybe Daala had her share of the action for a while and Jaina was taking a little longer than expected to escape from the police. That was just fine as far as Ashimi was concerned. She had enough on her mind remembering the tricks Dorme taught her to hide her bruises until they healed, if she thought about it as secret spy camouflage instead of makeup it felt cooler. At least she wasn't as sore anymore, as she was energetic and quick to recover. Ashimi, Jonathan and Zero had a long way to go to Fuchsia City, so they settled into the Lavender Town pokemon center and got some rest.

It was well into the night when Ashimi felt a whisper in her ear, it turned progressively louder and more high pitched until she suddenly sat up, looking in every direction. She caught some movement from the corner of her eyes and looked over the bunk bed's headboard. There she saw a Gastly, the ghost laughed and floated away towards the window. She went through the window and then back into the room with a soft murmur of "gastly..."

"Hey girl, do you want me to follow you?" Ashimi whispered and the Gastly nodded. "Be right there," Ashimi yawned. She peeked over the edge of the bed to the bunk below where Jonathan was fast asleep. "Hey Johnny!" She called to him, "Johnny, Johnny!"

"No dad, I didn't use your special edition premium bottle cap to scrape gum off my skateboard..." The voice calling him finally became loud enough to wake Jonathan from his slumber and the first thing he saw was Ashimi hanging upside down from the bunk above his, her red-orange hair spilling out like a fiery curtain. He sat up so quickly that he bumped his head on the bed above his. "Ow..." He rubbed the affected area and laughed it off as if he wasn't just startled out of his skin. 

"What's up? Is it that bad?" Ashimi poked at her own face. Dorme had told her time and time again, and made her recite it to ensure that the message was drilled into her head, that a lady must never sleep in her makeup. Ashimi had washed it all off before going to bed, so any hint of black and blue on her face was uncovered for the world, or at least for Jonathan and Zero to see. 

"Nah, I think you're getting better," Jonathan encouraged. Then he whispered very quickly in a quiet tone, "I thought you were the floating flaming disembodied head from that creepy pasta story Zero looked up online when we were eating at the cafe."

"What's that?" Ashimi didn't quite understand the last sentence as it was spoken so quiet and fast.

"Nothing... Anyway, what did you want to say in the middle of the night?" Jonathan assumed it was something important, as Ashimi usually slept like a rock through the whole night.

"Oh, right, the Gastly!" Ashimi made her way down the bunk's ladder to the floor. "I have to catch her!"

"She's still there," Zero suddenly spoke. Though there were two bunk beds, which meant that four people could comfortably sleep in the room, Zero was sitting in a corner next to a power outlet. 

"That's right, you can sense pokemon like a pokedex, so you knew she was there since she came in," Ashimi realized. "Do you even ever sleep?"

"I don't need to, I just debug," Zero replied. "But I can simulate sleep."

"That's a lot of debugging..." Jonathan commented.

"Weren't you going to catch the Gastly?" Zero reminded, changing the subject.

"Yes!" Ashimi cheered. Pichu was on her head, but didn't seem to want to fully wake up. He pulled his ears down and kept his eyes closed. "Pokeballs," Ashimi put on the belt with her pokeballs, though she was still in her pajamas, which looked like a long bright pink t-shirt that went just below her knees, with the word 'boss' written across the chest in glittery silver letters. The outfit was completed with Pikachu slippers. "Let's go!" She started towards the window without waiting to hear any protests, which she wouldn't listen to when there was a pokemon waiting to be caught anyway.

"Just like that, there she goes." Jonathan was sure he didn't like the idea of running around at night in Growlithe slippers, light gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt with the words 'keep calm and Rock on' in white letters, save for the R which was red and bolded. Yet despite his reservations, he took his pokeballs and followed Ashimi out the window anyway.

"I might as well," Zero followed along too. He was wearing Buneary footy pajamas that Ashimi insisted he put on, even if he saw no need to wear anything different during the night. Most of his clothes were part of his graphical interface anyway and the extra layer of actual fabric felt unnecessary .

Outside, Jonathan and Zero saw Ashimi running further down the street after the Gastly. "Does this look suspicious to you?" Jonathan asked Zero as they dashed after her.

"Yup," Zero chirped. "But if we don't pretend we're clueless we won't be able to draw out whoever is behind this."

"I thought so," Jonathan agreed, hence why neither he nor Zero had protested towards Ashimi's seemingly rash actions. Surely she had learned her lesson after the latest trap and that's why she didn't run off alone. Jonathan saw her glance over her shoulder to make sure they were following her, while pretending to be engrossed in the chase. She was now willing to accept her friends' backup without the need to prove herself. She still had that need, but not to the point where she'd act too foolishly. 

The streets of Lavender were deserted, as even those who had spent years living there found the town to be far too creepy to venture out at night. The Gastly led Ashimi to a graveyard with a tall rusted fence with metal bars. The gates were slightly parted, the lock long since unusable due to its age. But who would dare to venture into a graveyard in Lavender Town in the middle of the night? Ashimi looked at the gates and slowly walked through them. Her pause gave Jonathan and Zero enough time to catch up with her. 

The three of them ventured into the graveyard together, into the thick fog that floated over the gravestones. This was a human graveyard, the same one were Jaina was buried, Jonathan realized. He had been here before, when his parents deemed him old enough to be told the story of his lost sister and accompany them to put flowers on her grave a week before the anniversary of her death. They never went on the anniversary because that was his birthday, a time to celebrate life rather than solemnly recall the loss of it.

The fog became thicker, so much that they couldn't see, or at least Ashimi and Jonathan's human eyes couldn't. "This way, hurry," a female voice called.

Jonathan paused and looked around. "Ashy?" He tried to follow the sound, but it was faint. "Let's stay together," he reminded the group, "we don't want to get lost in here," 'and get ambushed,' he mentally added. "Ashy? Zero?" There was no reply.

"This way..." The female voice called out again. "I'm over here... I'm waiting for you..."

Jonathan walked in the direction of the voice as if pulled by an unseen force. The fog began to clear around him and a figure became visible. He walked towards it until he saw that it was a girl and Gastly was floating next to her. "You..." Jonathan recognized the crimson haired girl. He saw the familiarity in her eyes. "So you did escape from the police after all. I knew they couldn't hold you, but I thought you'd take a little time off before causing trouble again." He looked at the Gastly. "You can talk, can't you?"

"I can..." The Gastly replied. "But it is not my words that you should hear, listen to the words of your sister." 

Jaina held up a pokeball and the ghost willingly retreated into it. She looked at the grave next to where she stood. "It was fifteen years ago that I was stolen away. Fifteen years ago that I was pronounced dead." Jonathan recognized the grave, the name Jaina J. Kojiro displayed on it. "RIP, rest in peace... That's the last thing I've done."

Jonathan wanted to argue with her. He wanted to call her a liar, but when he looked into her green eyes, he couldn't. "What happened to you?" He finally choked out, his voice barely anything more than a whisper. 

"I was stolen away to be trained as the perfect Rocket agent. I was to follow in our grandmother's footsteps, to live for Team Rocket and die for Team Rocket. The name I was given was Miyamoto, after the one whose reputation I was expected to live up to, but my true name was Jaina Joan, yet that name was dead to the world. It was all done by Giovanni's orders, he decided that Jessie and James didn't need to know. In fact, he only let them keep you so that Ash wouldn't suspect his foul play and start a fight over it. My life and my family was stolen from me by Team Rocket. It was all done so that Giovanni's heir could have a loyal agent to make all the sacrifices necessary for her rise to power. Ashimi didn't exist at the time, but Ash and Misty were engaged to be married and Giovanni knew that sooner or later an heir would follow. I must end Team Rocket, they've enslaved our family for too long. That's the exact same thing that she's doing to you!" Jaina cried. "Please brother, don't let another tyrant like Giovanni continue to live. Ash might be the exception, but his daughter isn't like him, she'll take over Team Rocket and you'll never be free." Tears streamed down her face as she stepped closer to Jonathan and gripped his shoulders as if trying to shake some sense into him. "Brother, please, I only want to save you, to free you, please don't hate me for caring about you."

"Jaina..." Jonathan could hear the beating of his own heart echoing in his ears, faster and faster, in shock of the revelation. Then another rhythmic sound, another heartbeat in tune with his, like twins. He didn't know how he could hear it, but as the sound faded what happened next surprised him even more. He felt a deep sorrow, an unbearable pain; was their bond as twins truly that deep despite having been raised apart? Was he feeling the pain and suffering she felt? "Jaina..." His arms moved on their own, wrapping around the girl crying on his shoulder. "Sister... I'm so sorry..."

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 15: Resentment (Part 2)

Ashimi was making herself bait as she walked deeper into the Lavender Town graveyard, that was the unspoken agreement Zero understood. He assumed that Jonathan was watching her just as closely as he was, but then a thought formed into the variables of his programming. Jonathan, or Ashimi or humans in general couldn't see as clearly as he could. "Johnny?" He took his eyes off Ashimi and looked around for his other companion, but he wasn't there. He looked towards Ashimi again, the fog was too thick, too unnatural. Even with his eyes, he would lose sight of her if she went too far, but not of Pichu, he could still detect Pichu. That was it, if Jonathan ran into trouble and called Foxtrot out, Zero would be able to detect him with his pokedex functions and figure out their location. None the less, Ashimi was the target, but he couldn't leave Jonathan to get further away and be ambushed at a distance where simply knowing his location didn't mean Ashimi would be there on time if he fell into a trap. Likewise, he wouldn't be able to make his way to Ashimi on time if he was too far, even if he somehow figured out her location. It was time to end the act. "Ashimi!"

Ashimi stopped and looked around, but she couldn't see were Zero was. His voice echoed unnaturally, a strange effect of the peculiar atmosphere of the graveyard. She felt the cool touch of a hand that wasn't quite human on hers. She stretched her fingers, feeling the soft fabric of the Buneary pajama's sleeve and looked into the foggy darkness. She could see a pair of glowing doll-like eyes staring right at her. Anyone else might think it's creepy, but Ashimi still found it to be cute. She grasped his hand tightly with a protective look in her eyes. "Where's Johnny?"

"I lost him, sorry, I was too focused on keeping track of you," Zero admitted. "But if he gets into trouble and calls Foxtrot out to fight, I'll be able to sense him," the virtual boy quickly added.

"Okay, we should still try to find him though, I lost track of Gastly," Ashimi voiced. "There's honestly not much I can do in this fog if... ow!"

The pained yelp came out of nowhere and Zero was instantly alertly looking around. "What happened? I don't see anything suspicious and I don't detect any pokemon nearby save for Pichu."

"No, it's Pichu," Ashimi removed the yellow pokemon from her head. "He started trembling when he came into the graveyard and just now he was pulling my hair for no reason." She cradled the electric mouse, trying to soothe him.

"Relax, Pichu, if there are enemy pokemon here, I'll detect them," Zero offered. 

"Really Pichu, get it together, being a scardy-cat is Squirtle's department," Ashimi joked. Yet nothing seemed to work to make Pichu open his eyes. He just trembled in fear and buried his face on her chest, holding tightly to the pink fabric of her pajamas. If one of her bravest pokemon was acting this way, she didn't even want to think about letting Squirtle out of his pokeball, the poor dear would have a heart attack. 

"Pokemon detected!" Zero suddenly called out, there was something off putting about the alarm in his voice.

"What is it? Is it super strong?" Ashimi should have been worried if that was the case, yet she couldn't help it but to express excitement at the prospective challenge. 

"No, but I didn't sense him coming until he was very close," Zero frowned at the admission. Even with the bugs that came with being a discontinued prototype, a mere experiment, his pokedex functions shouldn't be affected. That was the only thing about him that worked as it should, and the thought of a failure in that area bothered him immensely. Was no part of him properly functional? It was frustrating.

"Maybe this fog is interfering with your signal or something," Ashimi consoled. The disappointment in Zero's voice was palpable. Pichu was in no conditions to battle, so Ashimi called out a different pokemon. "Furball, I choose you! You're pretty good at seeing in the dark, though this fog is in a class of its own. It's okay, Zero will guide you, so please listen to him. Sorry, but I can't see a thing, so I wouldn't be of much help."

"Me?" Zero stared at Ashimi in surprise. But he soon snapped out of when he realized there was no time to question her decision, Haunter was on the attack. 'C'mon pokedex, don't fail me now...' "Attack identified, shadow punch, calculating ideal counter attack..."

Furball hissed as the shadow punch hit him, it came out of nowhere and it creeped him out. Ashimi would have warned him if not for the fact that she didn't see it coming. "Zero, I know the latest pokedex come with the option of identifying attacks and suggesting the ideal counter attack, but that's just for studying. You can't rely on it in the heat of battle, there's no time so just go with your gut and don't forget to warn Furball of what's happening. This fog is too thick even for his eyes."

"I can't do this. My pokedex and email functions are the only parts of me that aren't riddled with programming bugs and even that might not be the case after all. My AI is... it's a total unstable mess!" Zero exclaimed, the admission bothering him more than he thought it would. It was the truth and he knew it from the start. "I don't know why Pixel didn't scrap me, I don't know why she told me to travel with you and find the spark of life, whatever that is, I'm nothing but a walking drive of errors."

Haunter made a loud noise like a battle cry. "Zero, what's happening?" Ashimi urged. Pichu let out a whimper as he began to cry. "It's okay Pichu, it's okay." What was wrong with him? He was usually so brave, Ashimi didn't understand. "Do you want to go in your pokeball?" Pichu paused then whimpered a sound of ascent. Ashimi was surprised by this choice, but did as he asked, the pokeball was not locked, so he could come out if he wanted. None the less, Pichu's reaction was very unsettling to Ashimi.

Zero watched as the Haunter formed a ball of ghostly energy in his hands and threw it. "Furball, dodge to the right!" Though the feline still had his doubts, he obeyed and was spared the hit from the shadow ball. "Now charge forward, jump and night slash!" Furball couldn't see where he was going, this fog was definitely not a normal type of darkness. He followed the instructions and landed his attack, the Haunter crying out in pain. The ghost had enough and quickly retreated into the fog. Zero was only able to detect him for a few more seconds before the wild pokemon dropped off his mental radar. "Haunter is gone, or rather out of range. I can't sense anything beyond a few feet's distance."

Ashimi knew what that meant. If Jonathan was facing an ambush and already had his pokemon out, Zero wouldn't know unless he was close by. Furball whimpered and Zero directed Ashimi to him. The feline reached for his trainer and rubbed against her leg, he was trembling and it wasn't simply because the night was chilly. "There's definitely something wrong about this fog, it looks like it induces fear the longer the pokemon are exposed to it, the longer anyone is exposed to it," she admitted. "Though it looks like it works a lot faster on pokemon. I can still keep a clear head for now, I think. I just have to keep telling myself there's nothing to fear, but what if there's truly something terrible here? What if some of the creepy pasta tales of Lavender Town are true?"

"Let's not think about that now," Zero half pleaded. 'Disable fear element... disable... I know it interferes with the proper running of the AI, but disable it anyway... There, I think that should do it,' Zero fought against his programming to end any simulations of fear, because that's all he had for emotions, simulations, he mused. Yet his AI was made to replicate the human psyche and fear could not be so easily shut down. Instead the fear piled up in his background processes and his system continued to accumulate more bugs and contradictions, more errors.

"This isn't good," Ashimi recalled Furball into his pokeball. He should be protected from the fear inducing effects of the fog in his pokeball. "We have to find Johnny and finish this, we need to turn this trap around."

"Or we could find Johnny and retreat," Zero suggested.

"No," Ashimi frowned, her eyes determined. "This time we stand together, we can watch each other's backs, there's no way we can fail. Well we're not together now, but we'll find Johnny. His pokemon, my pokemon and you directing them, we can turn this around!"

"Pokemon detected!" Zero warned. "It's Gengar, a really strong Gengar! I actually detected him from further away this time, probably because he's so strong, but he's getting closer!"

"It's okay, we can do this!" Ashimi tried to stay positive.

"No, we can't, we have to retreat, that Gengar is too strong and he's in mega form!" Zero argued.

Ashimi remained unconvinced, she groaned in frustration, why couldn't everyone just be motivated like she was? "I left my cell phone in my bag at the pokemon center, what does your pokedex program say about his power level?" The fog was clearing up and Ashimi could see the imposing silhouette of the Gengar. The ghost approached with a confident stride.

"It's over ninety!" It was Ninety-two to be precise, but everyone knew that anything above ninety was huge and almost never attributed to non-legendaries. Zero felt his systems overwhelm, error messages flashed through his mind in rapid succession and before he could do anything about it the words came out of his mouth on their own accord. "System crash," and the world went blue.

"Zero?" Ashimi catch the virtual boy before he hit the ground. She weighed her options and despite her fighting spirit telling her to stay, she took the wiser path. "Retreat!" She picked up the motionless Zero and ran for dear life.

Though Ashimi tripped and stumbled along the way, the fog eventually cleared up enough to allow her to see by the light of the full moon and star filled skies. Zero was still unconscious, but at least it didn't look like the Gengar had followed them. She really would have loved to catch it, but she had to admit he was too strong. Zero's eyes opened all of a sudden, but where the gradient went from black, up to blue, it now went from black to golden. Ashimi wondered if he had restarted in a sort of safe mode, but his wicked grin made him look anything but safe. 

Before she could speak, Zero's small hands went to Ashimi's throat. She tried to pull him off, but he was surprisingly strong for such a small boy. Of course, he was not a normal boy by any means. "Ze... ro..." Ashimi felt the world start to fade, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak, she couldn't think. Darkness threatened to reclaim her and never let her go. Her arms fell motionless at her sides, she couldn't fight any longer. Then, when she felt as if she would die, a warmth invaded her, as if a dim light buried deep within her had suddenly ignited. She opened her eyes with an odd glow reflected in them. Her hand reached out and gently rested on the boy's head, then she smiled and fainted.

The gradient colors in Zero's eyes went back to black and blue. He pulled his arms back and saw the unconscious Ashimi. "Ashimi?" He didn't know what was happening. He didn't remember what he did. "Ashimi?" He called out again, panic rising in his voice. He didn't think about suppressing the fear this time, it was simply too strong. "Ashimi!" He shook her, trying to wake her up, "Ashimi! Ashimi!"

"Ugh..." Slowly, Ashimi opened her eyes and saw Zero's frightened and sad expression. "Zero? Are you okay now?"

"Me? I'm not the one who's lying on the ground!" Zero hugged her, an overload of data passing through his systems at higher speeds than he could analyze it. "Please don't scare me like that again."

Ashimi hugged him back. It didn't look like Zero remembered what he did. Maybe some sort of deeply buried defense program was triggered. She might have to find a gentle way to ask about that later. But for now, she would hold him and reassure him that everything was okay. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that they ended up back close to the entrance of the graveyard. "Zero, I want you to go back to the pokemon center."

"What? No!" Zero immediately refused. "I can't leave you here to go look for Johnny alone! What if the fog comes back?"

Ashimi sighed, there was no easy way around this. She didn't want to make Zero feel bad, but it looked like she had no choice but to tell him the truth, or at least part of it. "You don't remember, do you? You crashed..."

"I know," Zero knew that much, but he didn't remember his initial restart. "When I rebooted you were on the ground. What happened?"

Ashimi frowned as she looked into Zero's eyes. He was genuinely concerned for her. So what if he was virtual, so what if he was full of errors? He was real to her, he was a precious friend. "You rebooted before that and your actions made no sense. I'm sorry Zero, but I can't protect you and myself, and look for Johnny at the same time. The fog is clearing up, I'll be fine. If you stay here, your system will get worse. I don't want you to feel bad, but you really do need to debug, please Zero, you're my friend and I don't want to lose you!"

Zero looked sad. "Alright..." He couldn't argue, he was a burden. A part of him knew that's not what Ashimi was saying, but even if she didn't see him like that, it didn't make it any less true. "I'll be waiting at the pokemon center for you and Johnny to return."

It broke Ashimi's heart to see Zero so sad, but she honestly thought this was the best choice to make. Zero couldn't be exposed to any more critical situations, especially if they made him lose himself. She was afraid for him a lot more than for herself. As for her own actions, Ashimi didn't remember much except being choked and fainting. She had no idea what had began to be unlocked as a consequence of her first true near death experience. Unaware of the presence watching her, Ashimi stood by as Zero disappeared down the street. She gathered her courage and ventured back into the graveyard. She still had her pokemon in their pokeballs and perhaps now that the fog was less they wouldn't fall victim to their fears. Even so, Ashimi hope that she wouldn't have to face that Gengar again. In the controlled setting of an official pokemon battle, playing by the rules, it would be epic, but the more rational side of her knew that in the wild it would be fatal. 

The power of a pokemon was measured in a standard scale of one to one hundred. In that context, one hundred wasn't the maximum amount of power a specific pokemon could reach, but rather the highest power recorded, which was typically attributed only to legendary pokemon. Not all pokemon had the same kind of power, thus even with intensive training, not all would reach a power level of one hundred, or even ninety. Anything above ninety was extremely strong and rare to come by. Such a level was very uncommon in the wild, as the strongest wild pokemon usually only reached up to fifty and even that was not easy to come by in a pokemon that had not been trained specifically for battle by a human.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, Jaina had spent some time talking to Jonathan, who seemed convinced by her story. "I know it must be difficult to think badly of someone you and your parents so deeply respect, but that's how it is. Ultimately, I didn't live up to Giovanni's expectations, I didn't become the next Miyamoto, and I was pushed to run away."

Jonathan wasn't sure what to do. He didn't know how his parents would react to something like this, but he knew it wouldn't be good. What if they panicked? What if his mother's temper surfaced and she confronted Giovanni? What if they both did? They would be branded as traitors and... Who knows, he didn't want to think about their terrible fate. No, he couldn't tell them, at least not yet. Maybe if he somehow resolved things, once it was all said and done he could tell them gently, but not yet. Although, if he was honest, he didn't know how things could ever be resolved. "Don't tell mom and dad. I know it's selfish of me to ask you this, but please don't tell them or they might do something they'll regret, and we'll regret."

Jaina nodded, "alright, I'll respect your judgment. I know it's hard to accept, but that girl," she referred to Ashimi. "No matter what Giovanni does, she's going to be on his side, she's going to justify him, and that will make it all the easier for him to make her his true heir."

Jonathan did not reply. He knew that Ashimi was strong, determined and brave, but she sometimes blurred the lines, claiming to want to have her journey separate from Team Rocket, and occasionally accepting help from them as long as it didn't directly interfere with her training. He saw no real problem with it so far, but would she become more open to such advantages later down the road? He had always admired how she wanted to earn her place in the world, rather than inherit it from her Rocket boss grandfather, or her pokemon master father, or gym leader mother. Yet she did often justify Giovanni's actions and paint them in an almost heroic light, she respected him, but then so did Jonathan. Was it wrong?

Jaina let out a tired breath, looking emotionally strained. "I'll give you time to let it all sink in. We'll meet again soon, until then, farewell, brother." Jaina walked away, disappearing into the light mist of the night.

"Be safe... sister," Jonathan whispered into the night. He went down on his knees in front of the grave marked as belonging to his twin. His hand reached out to touch the tombstone. "Why... Why did it have to be this way?" His parents, betrayed by the man they admired and served for decades, the one he had been trained to work for, the king of the empire he called home. It was frustrating, it was heart breaking, it was infuriating. The first time he had visited the grave he was old enough to understand the meaning of life and death. Enough time had passed for his parents to bring flowers without breaking down, without crying. It was a solemn, but not a desperate occasion and there were no tears that time, only gentle hugs and words of comfort. But this time, he did cry.

xoxox xox xoxox

"Johnny!" Ashimi called at the top of her lungs. She shivered, she had been in that graveyard for far too long. "Johnny!" Her worry increased with every moment that passed without a reply. She was putting herself at risk by continuing the search, but she didn't know what else to do. It was kind of like when Jonathan put her safety before his own health, she felt that she now fully understood and was thankful for his loyalty, which was all the more reason to find him. "Johnny, answer me!" The fog became darker. "Not again!" Soon, Ashimi couldn't even see her own hand in front of her face. She tried to move forward and stumbled. "Johnny!" There was no reply from the one who she was calling, but she did hear a voice howling in laughter. "Gengar..." She gasped in a breathless whisper. Maybe she could run away from him again, maybe he wouldn't chase her. Her hopes were dashed into pieces when the face of the pokemon appeared a mere inch from hers. Ashimi yelled and stumbled back, falling to the ground. 

Up close, Ashimi could see that the mega Gengar was a darker color than most, with odd ghostly ripples flowing through his being. There was something about him that spoke of an experienced power and somehow she knew that this ghost was quite old, older than her and older than her parents at least. Yet the pokemon's age had not diminished his power, all the opposite, the passing of time had made him stronger. It would take nothing short of a legendary pokemon to defeat this fearsome foe! 

Another figure appeared before Ashimi, if possible more imposing and eerie than the ghost. The cloaked figure approached her, floating in the air. "By this time your father's aura was stronger than yours. You have more sense, more rationale, though you still have his impulsiveness, your grandfather made sure you were also properly educated as a strategist. You think more, a valuable quality to have as the head of an organization, but there is no benefit without a consequence, for you also sense less. That is alright, though, you cannot believe that everything will work out in a situation such as yours, realism is just as valuable as optimism. "

"Sabrina..." Ashimi whispered the name in an uncomfortable gasp. That fog, that darkness, it must have been her who was causing it. No wonder it was so hard to see, it wasn't a physical barrier that could be penetrated with sharp eye sight or even a flashlight if she had one on hand, it was a mental state that numbed the senses and prevented images from being properly interpreted. Yet Zero was a program, Sabrina couldn't invade his psyche in the same magnitude as with a living creature. He would still be affected, as he was meant to function as a human, but his systems couldn't emulate the trance completely and in this case, the inaccuracy of his technology turned out to be beneficial. Yet, it was only a matter of time before his system was overloaded by the nonsensical data it received from the supernatural.

"Your technological doll is a very peculiar thing, it was ironic that it did what Gengar set out to do," the psychic laughed. As she leaned over Ashimi, the young girl could just barely make out the shadowy features of the woman's face in the darkness within her hood, Sabrina's eyes were glowing. "To push you to the brink of death." The crimson haired girl had nothing to do with her and was not considered important enough to delay Sabrina's plans. The psychic sensed a state of heightened emotion in Ashimi as she fought for Clefable, then the energy had faded away and she was once more at peace. Sabrina grew impatient, she decided that the next time she felt an emotional high on Ashimi's part, she would take the chance to push her all the way, to awaken the aura that was so deeply buried, that the girl had not managed to awaken it herself. That time came when Ashimi thought she was about to face an ambush in the graveyard and was filled with memories of her last experience with Clefable's kidnapping and the trap she walked into.

Ashimi stared into the glow of Sabrina's eyes, unable to move. "Why? Why would you want to kill me?" She didn't understand. Had she not passed Sabrina's test? Did the marsh badge not prove that?

"I don't, I only needed you to be close to death so that your aura would have no choice but to come out to save you," Sabrina explained.

"Aura..." Ashimi echoed the word quietly. She had seen her father control the mysterious power freely, but she could never do what he did. Time and again she tried to conjure an orb of light in the palm of her hand, but it wouldn't come. She tried to sense things, to know what couldn't be picked up by normal senses, but it always turned into a guessing game. "Dad said every living creature has some aura in them, but it might not be enough to project it in every case. Is mine really enough?"

"Barely," Sabrina's voice echoed with a hint of disappointment. "Your aura is as dormant as the aura of most. It's alright though, it can be made stronger and more usable. All you have to do is open your senses and feel the world around you. Experience the aura until that sense becomes something that feels natural, until you feel like one of your senses is missing without it, then you can prevented from becoming dormant again and train to use it." 

"I want to be able to use it," Ashimi admitted, though her voice sounded more shy than eager. She couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that clung to every inch of her being. 

"It doesn't matter if you want it or not, your aura will be motivated to grow by the need to survive," Sabrina voiced ominously. "You will feel it, you will loathe it and if you wish to keep your sanity, you will master it." Sabrina's index finger touched Ashimi's forehead and the redhead felt her whole body begin to glow. A sound like shattering glass echoed in her mind and the world spun rapidly around her. Sabrina moved her hand away and stood, leaving Ashimi on the ground on her hands and knees. The psychic recalled her Gengar into his pokeball and disappeared, teleporting away to a location unknown to the girl left behind.

Ashimi felt herself tremble, strange echoes filled her ears and she could see foggy currents that were not there before. Her breathing was ragged and uneven and her heart felt like it would burst. Tears flowed down her face as she was filled with a strong sense of mourning, of helplessness and of pain. Her eyes were wide and frightened, everything looked scary, everything sounded scary, everything felt disturbing and wrong. "Sabrina?" She called out in a shaky voice. "Sabrina!" There was no reply. "Don't... Don't leave me here!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "Johnny! Zero! Mom! Dad! Grandma! Grandpa! Anyone!" An ear splitting wail escaped her throat, she screamed until her voice cracked and she fell to the floor. Her pokemon popped out of their pokeballs and tried to comfort her. The fear inducing unnatural fog was gone, but seeing their trainer break down in desperate fearful tears scared them even more. Squirtle was the first to break down in tears and wail desperately. 

"Ashimi!" Jonathan arrived, running towards her. He saw the pokemon huddled around Ashimi, but saw no sign of any enemies. That worried him even more, it made him think the attack had already come and gone. "Is she injured?" He examined the trembling girl, but saw no signs of blood, in fact, though there were some minor tears in her clothes, he didn't see any of the bruises she had earlier. It didn't make sense that she would heal so fast, unknown to them it was an effect of the aura. "Where are you hurt?" He looked her over once more, unable to locate any injuries. Then he noticed something, all the pokemon were out of their pokeballs crowded around Ashimi, they seemed to be physically unharmed, but there was someone missing from the group. "Where's Zero? Did something happen to him?" A million terrible theories ran through Jonathan's head. Zero was a virtual being, why would anyone target him? Had he been kidnapped? No, Ashimi would be running off to save him if that was the case. Her cries were so desperate and sad, had Zero been murdered before her eyes? Somehow deleted into a nothingness that was his version of death?

"He's at the pokemon center," Ashimi choked out. "I... I need to see dad, please, I need him," somehow she knew that her father was the only one who could get her through this. She fought to calm down, but it was extremely difficult. The shadows and the dim light both felt like predators to her. She was even afraid of her pokemon and of Johnny. Her pokemon's desperation was hurting her and from Johnny she felt pain, doubts, confusion and worry. "Stop... Stop making me feel so awful!" She screamed.

"What do you mean? What's attacking you?" Jonathan still saw no one. Was it some kind of mental attack? Who could be capable of that? "Let's get out of here, let's go back to the pokemon center." He wasn't sure why Zero had gone back without Ashimi, but assumed there must have been a good reason that he would inquire about later. For now, the only thing he could think about doing was getting Ashimi out of the graveyard and taking her to the relative safety of the pokemon center.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 14: As usual, no one can get that poor boy's name right. The names he gets called are once again from Final Fantasy, Cloud from VII, Tidus from X, Locke from IV, Seifer from VIII. Lavender Town wouldn't be the same without creepy pasta stories, so I had to reference that too. XD

Chapter 15: Zero's "it's over ninety!" quote is a reference to Vegeta's famous "it's over nine thousand!" I know I already explained this in the story, but to clarify about the levels: In the games 100 would mean the maximum power a pokemon has. In the context of the story it is a standard scale for all pokemon. They don't all have the same kind of power, so not all of them can necessarily reach 100 in this context. A score of 100 is generally given to legendary pokemon only and anything above 90 is close to legendary power, thus extremely strong and rare to come by. When someone faints it is said the world went black, or dark, since they close their eyes as they lose consciousness, in Zero's case it's blue because he's virtual and rather than shutting down completely, he got a blue screen of doom. For those who have read Don't Give Me Diamonds, Sabrina's Haunter, now Gengar, appeared there as a pokemon belonging to a Rocket agent called Aayla in an era before Ash's birth. Various circumstances led to him living at the tower in Lavender Town, where Ash later met him in the events taking place in the first season of the anime. He ends up as Sabrina's pokemon in the anime and is once again seen here as one of her strongest pokemon. The Alakazam Sabrina used against Ashimi at the gym in earlier chapters was actually one of her younger pokemon, not nearly as strong as her Gengar.

xoxox xox xoxox

Characters and Groups

Jaina: A mysterious teenage girl, sent by Tornado to assassinate Ashimi. She claims to be Johnny's sister, but no one knows if it's true. 

Tornado: A peculiar organization of anti-Rockets that apparently has no base of operations and no official list of members. Known members include Daala and Jaina.


	6. Chapter 6

Awakening

Chapter 16: Limit Break

The sunrise found Ashimi in a corner of the guest room of the Lavender Town pokemon center, still looking scared. She was taking deep breaths in big gulps of air that made her look and sound like a Magikarp out of water. The feeling of helpless sadness wasn't as strong at the pokemon center, but she still felt very uneasy. She had showered and changed out of her pajamas, though even that simple task was not as easy as it would normally be. She kept fumbling with her clothes clumsily, then she dropped the soap at least five times and nearly slipped on several occasions. Ashimi's pokemon were all around her, trying to be as supportive as they could, though their worry shone through. Zero tried to cheer her up as well, but he was feeling like a mistake that should have never been activated and the frustrating uselessness that plagued his system didn't make the task any easier. 

Jonathan paced the room impatiently. He made sure Ashimi ate something, though her lack of appetite, a sharp contrast with her usual deep enjoyment of food, made him worry even more than he already was. His stress threatened to consume him as thoughts of his sister and her tragic life surfaced to join his current worries. When they had returned to the pokemon center the previous night, Jonathan found that he had several missed calls on his cell phone. The calls originated from the Cerulean City gym and he assumed that Ashimi must have even more missed calls from her parents. Being unable to reach her, they must have tried to contact him instead. Ashimi had been asking for her father, so Jonathan returned the call. It was Misty who answered, she had told him that Ash had already left, insisting that he had sensed something troubling, then she flooded him with questions about the whereabouts and state of health of her daughter. He had assured her that Ashimi wasn't injured or in any immediate danger, but she was inexplicably scared. Not long after the call with Misty ended, Jonathan got a call from Ash. The pokemon master assured that he was on his way and would be there soon.

The door was suddenly open and Ash made his way across the room to his daughter. "Daddy!" She jumped into his arms, holding on tightly. "Everything feels so strange, Sabrina said I had to master my aura, please teach me!"

"Ashimi..." Ash tried to keep his voice at a soothing tone for Ashimi's sake. "Tell me what happened." He looked into her eyes as she nodded and narrated the events that took place in the graveyard the previous night. Of course, she left out Johnny's conversation with Jaina because she had not witnessed that, thus didn't know anything about it. She also left out Zero's berserk moment, since she had settled into the idea that it was just an error and he could fix it with more debugging. Instead, she just said she fainted while running away from Gengar and Zero woke her a little later. She didn't remember her use of aura to make him regain control, not that there was any way to explain that, because Zero was not alive in the traditional sense anyway.

Ash frowned, "I can't believe she would do that," he growled in unforgiving anger. If his father had put Sabrina up to this, he would have a thing or two to say to him. "Listen, Ashimi, I'll try to explain this as well as I can. I've studied some of this over time, but the true knowledge of aura is a lost art. As I've said before, every living creature has some aura in them, though it is usually not enough to be projected and remains in a dormant state. At times it can wake up during moments of crisis or danger, that's how people sometimes inexplicably gain the knowledge or strength that saves their lives, their aura gives them clarity and power. However, there is a sort of seal that keeps aura deep within so that it isn't used up, as that can be life threatening. That seal is something natural and necessary for the aura's protection, though it also numbs the extra sensory perception it can provide. "

"When I use aura, the seal is still there, but there's enough aura to seep out and be projected. I've learn to control it to the point where I can call it out at will," Ash explained. "What Sabrina did to you was that she broke the seal, leaving your aura exposed. Instead of learning to coax it out you felt it all at once. You were in a graveyard, a place of sadness and dark energy, all of that overwhelmed your senses. When your friends became worried about you, you felt their worry and their fear for you, and that only made it worse. Without the seal to protect your aura, you're basically hyper sensitive to the flow of energy and emotions of those around you. You can also call out all your aura at once, but if you did that you would..." 

Ash couldn't complete the sentence, but Ashimi understood, "I would die," she finished. She let out a breath and continued. "I can sense it, your energy flowing into me. I see the worry in your eyes, but I feel nothing but peace coming from you and it's not just me, it's everyone here, your energy is making them all calm down."

Ash nodded, a small smile forming on his face for his daughter's sake. Pulling off that technique was not easy, he was stressed and worried, but he needed to keep those emotions to himself and project nothing but peace. It was also why he insisted that Misty should wait at the Cerulean gym. Naturally, she would be concerned about her daughter, but then Ash would have one more person to calm with his aura. Ash knew that if he tried to train Ashimi to suppress her aura she wouldn't be receptive to it. She wanted to wield it, not hold it back, she had always dreamed of having the same power her father had. But it was too dangerous, without a limit to hold back the bare essentials of her life force, she could consume it all with frightening ease. 

The only way she could be properly trained was if he could find a way to restore the natural seal, if there was even a way. For now, Ash had to buy more time. If she was in any dangerous situations or even in a particularly exciting pokemon battle, he feared that the emotional high would make her project too much of her aura and set off a deadly chain reaction that would leave her drained, in a long coma, or dead. "I'll train you, but you'll have to take a break from your pokemon journey, it's important that you learn to control your aura now that it has awakened, so we need to head home for a while."

"Okay..." Ashimi agreed, thinking that it was an imperative detour and by no means a permanent one. She reasoned that after the training was done she would go back to her quest for more badges. 

Thus Ashimi's pokemon journey reached a pause. She and Ash returned to Cerulean City. Jonathan and Zero accompanied them on the trip and stayed for a while before heading off to Saffron City to meet up with Jessie and James and work on some Rocket business. Ash contacted Giovanni about Sabrina's actions, he claimed not to know anything about it and Ash concluded that his father was telling the truth. Angered by the danger Ashimi was put in, the Rocket boss sent his agents out to hunt for Sabrina, but she was not at her gym and locating her would prove to be a very difficult task.

xoxox xox xoxox

A few days later, Zero returned to the Viridian Rocket headquarters in hopes of getting some form of patch or upgrade, though the fact of the matter was that he couldn't. The virtual human project was canceled for a reason, it was simply too difficult to emulate the complex human psyche with the existing resources. "I'm sorry Zero, but I didn't actually program you, no one did. You were made from two brain scans, the computer produced an AI from there, taking random traits from both sets of data. The data was deleted for security reasons, though only personality traits and not actual information was passed on. Basic knowledge was installed and that was it. I do not have the brain scans anymore, and even if I took them again, they wouldn't be exactly the same. In fact, even if I had them, they wouldn't mix exactly the same. You are unique, a one time achievement."

"Can't you look into it? Ashimi said I was acting nonsensical," Zero wasn't sure what that meant, he knew it was bad, but he didn't know how bad. He placed his hand on the metal cylinder before him, the container from where the voice came.

"That's only because you tried to override your AI simulation for your convenience. You can't turn off emotions, that's also part of the deal that comes with your realism." The metal cylinder opened up and out stepped a woman. She closed off the cylinder again and examined her reflection on the smooth mirror-like surface. She looked very much human, good, no one needed to know at a glance how many machine components she had. She started out as a hacker for Team Rocket who had to climb from the bottom. Over time she turned into a sort of technological jack of all trades, and master of none, she would joke. Then when the chance presented itself to become a cyborg... She held back, waited for the technology to become stable and then she joined the project. "I didn't program you, I can't make heads or tails of your data, I wouldn't know what to fix because I don't know what it's supposed to be like. It's far too complicated, that's why I used a brain scan instead of just programming, because I couldn't have made something this complex."

Zero pouted cutely. "Why didn't you just deactivate me after the project was cancelled, I'm no good to Team Rocket."

Pixel reached out and ruffled his hair. "Because you're cute, that's why I decided to keep you."

"But then you sent me away..." Zero continued to pout.

"Because being with Ashimi would do you some good. See the world, make friends, then you might just..." She decided to leave the statement hanging, there was no simple way to explain that she hoped something inexplicable would occur. "I have to prepare for a mission, Comet is already getting the others up to speed. When we're back, we'll play with you, okay?"

Zero found it in himself to smile, "okay..." 

xoxox xox xoxox

Later that night, while Zero remained at headquarters, Pixel, Comet and two younger agents made their way into a building in the northern side of Pewter City. It was suspected to be the hiding place of one of Sabrina's minions, who could possibly have information on her whereabouts. Pixel was well attuned with machines, being partially one herself, and would be giving the other agents guidance from the rooftop, watching everything unfold through various security cameras inside the building. Comet was a high ranking spy whose missions often involved infiltration and the theft or recovery of various valuables. 

The younger agents were Jonathan and Dorme. He had reported to headquarters as per Giovanni's orders, who claimed Jessie and James could do their duties without additional help and he could be placed in a more productive position. Jonathan was plagued with doubts and mixed feelings about Team Rocket that he was having a hard time coming to terms with. Dorme was called back from her unsuccessful hunts for Daala and Jaina. It felt as if they had dropped off the face of the earth, probably spooked into hiding by the heavy Rocket activity as they combed Kanto looking for Sabrina. They were searching in other regions too, but Kanto had always been Sabrina's home and it deserved special attention. Plus Giovanni happened to know that teleporting was a lot easier for Sabrina in familiar territory. Her teleportation would consume a lot more energy per distance outside of Kanto, and would be less precise, though she was still a formidable opponent.

Dorme seemed all too eager to participate in the Sabrina hunt, albeit she didn't actually expect to find anything. This was the suspected location of a minion, not Sabrina herself, and most leads had turned out to be duds anyway. Even so, the blond was still energetic about the mission since Johnny would be her partner and Comet, one of the nicer high ranked agents, would be on the field with them. Plus Pixel was directing the mission and usually gave good reviews. This was their chance to score some points in their Rocket careers. Dorme and Johnny's part of the mission was simple. All they had to do was provide backup in case Sabrina's underling really was there and tried to escape. They waited in the first floor of the closed office building, leaning against a cubicle wall. "I heard he's a werewolf," Dorme commented about Comet. 

Jonathan couldn't help it but to roll his eyes. "High ranked Rocket spy, fact, Misty's relative, fact, nice to the rookies despite his rank, fact, werewolf, definitely fiction, as all werewolves are."

"It was just a rumor, it's not like I actually believed it," Dorme pouted. "Comet is obviously not a werewolf, he's not hairy enough. As for all werewolves being fiction, I doubt that, they're just extinct. I happened to know for a fact some years back, before we were born, a female was found, she had fangs and claws and everything and purple hair!"

"It was probably just some weirdo furry," Jonathan laughed.

"Was not!" Dorme stomped her foot. "I asked Laiki about it because if the werewolf was real, then surely Team Rocket must have gone after her. Even if Laiki was a toddler at the time, she would know, because she makes it her business to know every piece of gossip and Team Rocket going werewolf hunting sounds like a hot topic to me. But you know what? She didn't outright deny it like I thought she would. She got all uncomfortable and clammed up, Laiki never clams up! She definitely know something but she won't tell."

"Right..." Jonathan laughed. "Why are we discussing Comet's possible species anyway. I thought it was pretty clear he's a human."

"He would look older by now," Dorme pointed out.

"Don't tell me you think he's a vampire," Jonathan joked.

"Of course not, he doesn't sparkle in the sun," Dorme shook her head.

Jonathan looked downright offended. "Dorme," He looked so serious that it made Dorme uneasy. She wordlessly nodded her head and waited in silence for him to continue. "Vampires do not sparkle in the sunlight or sparkle at all. If they go out in the sun they burst into flames and die." Dorme looked as if she was going to open her mouth to protest and cite some modern legend from her mother's youth, but Jonathan raised his hand in a sign of silence and repeated, almost obsessively. "They burst into flames and die." Dorme had no choice but to nod solemnly. An uncomfortable silence passed, during which Jonathan maintained the same serious look and Dorme shifted awkwardly. When the quiet finally got to Jonathan, he added, "I don't think he's a vampire either."

"Huh?" Dorme blinked, then was able to pick up on the thread of conversation they were having before. "Oh, I don't think so either, but then how do you explain the way he looks? He should look older."

"He has white hairs," Jonathan pointed out.

"But he has the face and body of a twenty-something," Dorme specified.

"He works out," Jonathan logically suggested.

"His face? It's flawless!" Dorme dramatized.

"Plastic surgery?" It felt unlikely, but he had to guess.

"Nah, he's not the type to go through the trouble and if he was, he'd dye his hair too," the blond mused.

"Um... he... takes his pokemon chewy vitamins every day?" Jonathan guessed.

"I doubt that alone would work," Dorme breathe hopelessly, though she still made a mental note to take her vitamins every day. "It makes sense that Pixel looks twenty-something, she's an android after all."

"Cyborg," Jonathan corrected. "Androids are human-looking robots, cyborgs are humans with mechanical enhancements. Please Dorme, get it right."

"Sorry if my collection of digital comics isn't as big as yours," Dorme crossed her arms and threw her head back. "How many drives do you have anyway?"

"A bunch..." Jonathan admitted. "All together they're maybe an exabyte... or two... or three," he saw Dorme giving him an impatient look. "Okay fine, it's seven, but they're really high definition, so yeah..."

Dorme's jaw dropped, "sheesh..."

"The theories will have to wait, we have confirmation, there's a psychic here!" Comet's voice came through Jonathan and Dorme's ear pieces.

"Theories? I thought these things were set to receive only, he was listening?" Dorme felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. Pixel was probably listening in too. 'Way to look like an idiot rookie,' Dorme mentally berated herself.

"Jamming signal detected on the third floor. It looks like there's a machine that can amplify psychic waves being used to jam the pokeball mechanisms," Pixel's voice warned.

"What?!" Dorme hurried to try to release her pokemon from their confinement inside the red and white capsules, but it was already too late. "It won't work. I thought Team Rocket had defenses for this! Why isn't Pixel fixing it? Is she busy with something else?"

"We must be too close to the source of the jamming signal, let's go!" Jonathan hurried towards the elevator. "Pixel, are the elevators usable, are you controlling them?"

Noises filtered in, originating from Comet's location. There were arguments, yelling and the sounds of a struggle, then the communication channel from Comet was cut. "Stay in the first floor until further notice," Pixel ordered, then ended the communication between them as a whole.

"What happened to Comet?" Jonathan asked, but received no reply. "Come in Pixel," nothing, "she cut us off, or the enemy did."

"I'm getting all antsy just standing here," Dorme paced back and forth a little. She tapped on her ear piece, but it remained unresponsive.

"We don't want to get stuck in the elevators if Pixel isn't controlling them, let's take the stairs," Jonathan started moving towards them.

"What?" Dorme gasped. "We can't disobey a direct order! We already look bad enough by chatting on the job like that. Pixel said to stay here!"

"The communication is out and there's nothing to prove that Pixel cut it herself. Maybe she intended to say something else but didn't have time. The pokeballs aren't working, Comet is fighting the psychic alone, shouldn't we be giving him some backup?" Jonathan reasoned. He didn't wait for Dorme's reply before rushing up the stairs.

"Comet knows what he's doing. If we get scolded for poking our noses where they don't belong, it's going to be all your fault!" Dorme hurried after Jonathan despite her protests.

The two young Rockets arrived at the third floor quickly. The place was dark with desks and chairs overturned, piled against the walls as if thrown aside by a tremendous force. Up ahead there was what could only be described as a false wall. It was wooden and not very thick, but it was painted to look like the concrete structure of the rest of the building. The room was large, encompassing the entire floor, and it would be difficult to tell that there were a few feet of it missing, sealed off towards the back. The false wall had been broken and there was a deep darkness beyond the hole. Jonathan and Dorme ventured in. There were shelves with cabinets, though they took no time to look through them. 

They found a ladder going down and took it. The part that corresponded to the second and first floor was hidden in the center of a fountain. The pillar with water that went up and down in spiraling lines with invisible transparent tubes that made it look as if gravity and physics ceased to exist, reached from the floor of the first floor to the roof of the second. It was decorative and most would attribute its thickness to the mechanisms needed to guide the water in such a seemingly magical way, the building's workers never suspected there was a ladder in its hollow center.

The ladder led to a hidden basement that was not reported in the official plans of the building. A tall door stood before them with a red R engraved on it. "Team Rocket..." Dorme whispered. 

"I think I know what this is," Jonathan recalled the place being mentioned by his parents. "It used to be a Rocket hide out, but it's too small and not in use anymore. The Rockets now go to that breeding center near the gym. Brock comes and goes, but since taking over the Pewter gym again he hasn't been there as often. He plans to go back to the breeding center full time, even if he had to work with Team Rocket to keep it, after Brand is old enough to manage the Pewter City gym. I doubt even a psychic could hide here for long, he must have broken in recently." Jonathan pushed the large doors aside, they were unlocked and open a crack. He opened the doors just enough to slip through and went in, followed by Dorme.

The basement was rather large, but empty. It was dark, humid and it smelled of dust and abandonment. A lone light flickered in the middle of the room. The two young Rockets ventured further in. There was an odd armor-like machine with wires and circuitry sticking out, sparks were still coming from it, as if it had been ripped apart recently. "Stop!" A desperate voice pleaded and there was a sound of someone being thrown against a wall, but it was too dark in that corner to see from afar. Jonathan turned on a tiny flashlight, which provided considerable illumination for being so small. "No, don't come any closer!" Approaching the voice they found a young man, a rookie psychic at best, in a corner cowering in fear. He looked up at the Rockets, "I surrender!"

"Wow, this guy's pretty bloody and beaten, looks like a few bones are broken too," Dorme observed, the helpless psychic was simply in too much pain to focus enough to use his powers anymore. "Was it Comet?" 

"There's no one else here," Jonathan voiced. "It's a bit of overkill, but I suppose this guy must have done something to make him mad." The helpless psychic gasped and looked up fearfully. Quiet steps approached behind Jonathan and Dorme. The Rockets turned to look and found a very angry looking Comet. Before they could even blink, Comet grasped both their throats and lifted them off the floor. 

"Comet!" Pixel suddenly made it into the room. "Put them down, they're our allies." She was wearing her armor now, black with a red R on the chest and silver on the boots and forearms, the armor held all the necessary components to act as a computer she could use for her role of tech support during missions. Comet's grip on their throats loosened but he didn't let them go. Dorme and Jonathan kept trying to pull his hands away, utterly confused about his inexplicable actions, but they couldn't get free. Comet was usually described as one of the 'cool' agents, who didn't throw his rank around if he could help it and was looked upon with a trustful sort of respect by the younger Rockets. "Comet," Pixel repeated, her tone softer now, as she removed her helmet. Comet dropped the two young Rockets, who took in gasping breaths of air, and turned his attention fully towards Pixel. "I know you're still in there, wake up."

Comet approached with a somewhat feral look still reflected in his eyes, as if he was unsure if the woman was a threat or an ally. He stepped closer, breathing deeply as if taking in her scent, a mix of a machine-like scent and something sweeter. "Pixel?" He blinked. "Weren't you stationed on the roof?" He looked back at Dorme and Jonathan, "and weren't you two at the first floor in case he tried to get away?"

"He's not going anywhere," Pixel voiced, looking towards the beaten psychic. "It looks like he fainted from his injuries.

"Looks like it..." Comet scratched his head in confusion then grinned at Jonathan and Dorme, "did you two rough him up?" The younger Rockets could offer no answer beyond an uncomfortable step back. Comet paused, looking at their frightened expressions with concern, "did I do something weird just now?"

"We'd best talk about it on the way back to HQ," Pixel suggested.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 17: Picking Up The Pieces

Comet made his way down the long hallways of the Rocket headquarters, underground beneath Viridian City. The tunnels ran through all of Kanto, forming an ever growing city under the streets above. He passed next to a security elevator, taking a moment to pause and look at it. He had access to it, but had not used it in a long time, he had no reason to go down there anymore. If a mission came up where he had to recover, or more likely steal, some kind of chemical or genetic substance, then he might find himself personally delivering the precious cargo to the scientists working at the laboratories below. But that hadn't happened lately, most of his missions dealt with retrieving information, blueprints and such, which went to different areas for analysis. The last time he was down there he visited Binks' live-in laboratory, the man just couldn't be kept away from his studies even after he regained enough clarity of mind to get around without an escort. Although, he never really went anywhere alone, as he was always seen in the company of a rare Zoroark with a violet mane. 

The apartment lab had been remodeled and integrated into the research space next to it long ago, as it had been a little over a year since Binks' passing. Aayla, his once human, Zoroark companion, fell ill and passed away soon after his death. Comet continued walking. Three times, the problem the elderly scientist had warned him about had occurred three times so far. The first time it happened, the first time he lost himself, Pixel was close enough to talk some sense into him. He still found the occurrence to be strange, that and the white locks in his hair. He expected to get white hair eventually, but the white locks were thick and appeared very fast. He disregarded it at first, joking that at least he could rest assured that he would probably never go bald, because the white hair was somewhat thicker and stronger than the strands of soft orange he still had, yet later he wished he would have investigated immediately, not that it would have made a difference anyway. 

Comet was one of several clones copied from Luke, a Rocket agent that had been there since the founding of Team Rocket. The others were modified by having elements added to them, which resulted in their rapid aging to adulthood, mutation, loss of control, insanity and eventual death. Urban legends still remained of the feared serial killer one of them came to be known as, even though it happened decades ago. Comet grew up slowly, at the rate of any normal boy. Nothing was added to him, but something was removed. When the cloning project was declared a failure, only he remained within Team Rocket. Luke, his original, took him in as a son, and it wasn't until Comet was all grown up that he learned the truth about his origins. Binks, the scientist who oversaw the cloning process, having gained experience after working under Dr. Fuji's direction, had assured Comet after the truth was revealed to him, that he was indeed fully human. 

Comet's ease when it came to adapting to various situations, how training was never difficult for him, his agility and endurance, were due to certain limitations and negative genetics being removed, however, nothing was added, thus he was expected to live his life as a normal human, a rather athletic one, but normal nonetheless. For most of his youth that's how it was for Comet. Yet a time came where the first signs of age began to manifest. First it was his hair turning white, but he still felt strong, and had the same face and body he had at twenty-five, despite being in his late thirties. The genetic alterations were fine during his youth, but as he became older his body interpreted the smallest signs of aging as a threat and fought to take action against it. The adaptations were a rapid form of evolution that was too fast to end in anything other than chaos. He was becoming like his lost brothers, inhumanly strong, insane and dangerous. 

"I'm sorry for unknowingly lying to you, telling you that you would live out the rest of your life as a human." Binks, weakened by years of poor health, had fallen ill again that time, unable to continue his studies for weeks. That time, he would never recover. "There is a way though, you can restore the limitations, but it is likely the process will damage you, leave you quite frail for the rest of your days." Binks did not wait for Comet's reply, he already knew the answer. "But of course, you won't agree to that. You're a Rocket to the end. You and Pixel both. How is her percentage of technology now? Does her biological side still prevail?" Binks laughed, "you kids... Such lovers of chaos, the peace and serenity of old age is not for you. You'll live in chaos until it claims you." He feared that even with their youthful faces, they wouldn't live long lives, yet he tried to stay optimistic. After all, both Binks and Aayla had lived through a lot and survived for far longer than they had expected, so maybe there was a chance for Comet and Pixel to live long lives too.

Despite the news he had received, despite knowing that his end would most likely not be a peaceful one, Comet smiled. "You're right, Pixel and I are agents of chaos, but more importantly, we're Rockets and we'll make the best of it for as long as we can. And who knows, maybe Pixel will stick around for a long time, she does fit in very well with technology and then she can keep me as me." 

After Binks died, Aayla took to sleeping all the time and slowly became weaker. She was at peace though, assuring that both she and Binks had lasted longer than they had expected and found some semblance of happiness in the end. 

In the present time, as Comet made his way to his and Pixel's room at HQ, he reflected on how much Team Rocket had changed around him yet he had not noticed. Perhaps he and Pixel had changed along with the world, while remaining in the same stage of their lives, the stage where they constantly chased after what was new and exciting. They were not left behind to look at the world from a different perspective, perhaps missing out on those experiences, but that was alright, because they were not looking for their place, seeking the next stage, they were where they belonged. He dropped onto the bed and closed his eyes. 

Pixel sat beside him, nodding at her Porygon-Z, Prim, that she would continue what they were working on later. "You okay?" Peachy, her Pikachu, had ran off to visit Giovanni's Persian couple at his office.

"Yeah," Comet assured. He was always cheerful and carefree, like his father, his original. "The boss didn't find out this time."

"It only ever happens in particularly deadly situations," Pixel reminded. "You should be fine on your usual missions, getting in and out unseen. That second time was priceless though. As much as I would have liked to have been close by to snap you out of it right away, someone had to put Thor in his place," and no ordinary human could.

Comet temporarily losing his sanity was nothing to laugh at, but he did anyway. Thor had been the one to restrain him, as he was probably the only one strong enough to do so, and got a few bruises to show for it. Comet did too, but his healing was much faster and the signs of the struggle were gone in hours, while Thor had to walk around yelling at rookies with a black and blue face for a few days. "I apologized to him for the trouble and that pissed him off more," Comet grinned.

"Figures," Pixel laughed. "I think it'll be okay this time," they didn't know if the next time would be okay too, but they did know it would come sooner or later. "I'm pretty sure we can trust Johnny and Dorme to keep the secret, I wasn't too sure about her, but Laiki said it would be okay. She's a pretty good judge of character," which wasn't surprising with the amount of personal data the pokemon doctor knew about everyone.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, at Cerulean City, during the last few weeks, Ashimi was busy with small concentration exercises. Ash made sure to tell her time and again how important it was not to let all her aura escape her and especially not to push it out harshly. He didn't have an easy time of training his daughter since she wanted to learn how to shoot big blasts of energy from her palms and read minds, despite mind reading not actually being a part of the aura abilities, though emotional reading was.

Delia had gone over to stay at the Cerulean gym for a few days. She was always cheerful and kind, looking upon just about any situation with optimism, so she would be good to have around. One afternoon, Ashimi was taking a break from training, helping her grandmother decorate gingerbread cookies. It wasn't Christmas and the cookies felt a bit out of season, but they were delicious. The young girl sighed and put down the frosting pen. Instead of gum drop buttons, the cookies had red Rs, one had blue-violet frosting on its head, another yellow and another lines of blue and orange. 

"Those are very nice cookies," Delia complimented, but it was clear that her granddaughter's thoughts were elsewhere. "What's wrong, honey?"

"What's with grandpa making Sabrina public enemy number one?" Ashimi finally asked. "She was kind of mean, really, she could have teleported me out of the graveyard before unlocking my aura, but I'm still thankful to her. Without her help who knows when I would have been able to use my aura? Ten years from now? Twenty? Never?"

"Ashimi, sweetie, I'm sure you would have figure it out without going to the extremes," Delia softly replied. "As for your grandfather. He's only sending out the army because he loves you, although I agree that it's excessive to declare Sabrina a traitor and sentence her to immediate execution. I tried to tell him we should talk to her and ask her to undo what she did. I'm no expert, but if that natural aura seal Ash mentioned is there for protection and he can use his abilities while having it, then so can you."

"Or I could just master it like this," Ashimi formed a ball of light in the palm of her hands. Her father kept telling her not to make it too big, but she kept wondering how big it could be. "It's so easy, the energy just flows out!"

"That's kind of the problem, I think," Delia reminded. 

"I won't use it all up, but I must have enough to spare for a few special abilities," Ashimi assured. She let the ball of energy fade, the aura retreating back into her being. "Dad's the only one who can truly teach me to control it and he's only letting me take baby steps."

"I know it's frustrating, but the path to such a great power can't be easy," Delia gently reminded. 

"I know..." Ashimi let out a tired breath, all that waiting and moving slowly was getting to her. "Where did dad go anyway? He's been gone for two days now and he wouldn't even tell me what exactly he was researching or where."

"I'm sure we'll hear about it soon," Delia tried to encourage her. "Then you'll have new things to learn with the aura." She could tell that Ashimi was becoming frustrated with the slow pace of her father's cautionary teachings, but his worries were not without a good reason. If Ash used up his power, he would likely faint and take a while to recover, but if Ashimi used up her power, she would die. "For now, how about we made some cinnamon chocolate milk to go with the cookies." Despite her impatience, Ashimi couldn't say no to the suggestion. Her grandmother made the best cinnamon chocolate milk, she could drink a barrel of the stuff and still want more.

A short while later Misty arrived at the kitchen after having very easily dispatched a cascade badge hopeful. She didn't mean to be harsh on the poor kid, but the boy needed to do some serious training if he wanted to get into the Indigo League. She joined her mother-in-law and daughter in making treats. At least Ashimi got more treats than usual, probably because they wanted to keep her calm and happy, as being even a little upset would feel significantly worse in the sensitive state of her aura. Ash was very worried about what could happened if the flow of energy was corrupted. It wasn't only a matter of keeping her aura in her body, but also keeping it pure, which was no simple task when any darkness that may be in the atmosphere could grip it so easily without its natural protective barrier. 

xoxox xox xoxox

Later, Ash arrived with Giovanni. Ashimi was surprised to see her grandfather there as he rarely came for visits and instead when she wanted to see him, she had to go to Viridian City. Giovanni gave her a small box that seemed like so much more than an ordinary gift. "These are very rare, don't lose them," he instructed.

Ashimi opened the velvet box to find a pair of earrings inside. They were simple in design, two orbs in a pretty shade of blue. They looked like pearls, except they weren't the normal color of pearls, but they were smooth and round, unlike how most gems were cut. "They're beautiful."

"Ashimi," Ash spoke seriously, which made his daughter look at him curiously. She wondered what was going on. Her grandfather wouldn't make his way there unless he had a good reason and it looked like her father was aware of what that reason was. "Never take them off."

Ashimi looked at her father and grandfather with curiosity and slight confusion. She had been holding the box the whole time, not knowing what the earrings within really meant. Slowly, as if expecting something grand to occur, she touched one of the smooth orbs with the tip of her index finger. The effect was instantaneous. There was a sort of peaceful feeling contained in the unusual gems. "What are they?"

"Aquamarine's pearls, an item of legends. They form a protective shield around your aura to purify any negative energy that may try to corrupt it. In your case, you won't get any additional protection, but you will have an equivalent to the natural protection Sabrina removed. Your aura will be more difficult to coax out with them on, though you should still be able to do it with what you've learned so far. These are not meant as a hindrance to a true aura user, so the difficulty you may feel at first will be imperceptible once you establish true control over your aura." Ash explained, he had tested the pearls' authenticity with his own aura. "It's very important that you do not remove them and especially do not lose them, they cannot be replaced. It will be more difficult to activate your aura, but that's how it's supposed to be, you have to promise not to try to take any shortcuts by taking them off."

Ashimi paused for a moment. She felt all the eyes in the room on her. "Alright, I promise," she finally agreed. She knew she didn't have a choice.

"You better not break that promise," Giovanni warned. That explained why he was there, to take the oath so to speak.

Yet it took Ashimi by surprise, as she thought he would be more open to the thought of a shortcut to power. "It'll take me a lot longer to master using aura," she pointed out.

"There are no shortcuts to power," Giovanni stated firmly. "You may manipulate it for a while, but it will not stay. The only power that is truly yours is the power you earn." It was something he had learned the hard way through many years of trial and error. "Besides," he added with a challenging grin. "I wouldn't want to think that you're not strong enough to master this on your own, how it was meant to be. When did you become afraid of challenges?"

"I'm not!" Ashimi ascertained. "I can do this, thank you," she put the earrings on, and the hyper sensitivity she had to the world around her faded. "You said they would protect me, but I can't sense a thing now."

"That's because you never could," Ash revealed. "Sensing things with aura is like," he tried to come up with a simple example. "It's like learning to open a window and looking out, but you haven't been doing that, you just had a really big hole on the wall. Now I can teach you how to really make aura flow instead of pushing it out with little direction. Precision would have been necessary for more advanced techniques anyway and if your aura just flows out in every direction, you wouldn't have been able to learn them. In the long run, you'll get more out of it this way."

"What about my pokemon journey?" Ashimi inquired.

"After I've taught you some techniques, you can continue with your journey and practice along the way, on one condition," Ash decided. Ashimi watched him expectantly, "you have to pass a test."

"What's the test?" Ashimi eagerly asked.

Ash smiled, "you'll find out soon enough."

xoxox xox xoxox

Several more weeks passed and Ashimi continued to train her aura with Ash. He showed her basic techniques for summoning her aura, sensing and the like. It was challenging, as only a relatively small amount of Ashimi's aura would readily respond to her, though Ash assured her she was making good progress. She had inquired about the origin of Aquamarine's pearls. They were said to have belonged to princess Aquamarine, who lived centuries ago. Some say they were formed from her tears, other say they were her eyes, and the most well known legend claimed that the pearls were the crystallized souls of Aquamarine and her beloved. Whatever their origin may be, they did hold a mysterious power to them that only aura users could benefit from. They were not easy to obtain, but Team Rocket had its ways.

The day of the test finally came and Ash revealed what it would consist of. "A pokemon battle," the announcement made Ashimi all too eager to take the test. "Not with me though, I'll be the judge."

"I'll be your opponent," Misty announced, she and Ash had planned this in secret, to come up with a proper way to see how far Ashimi had gone. "You'll need a water pokemon for this, since this battle will take place under water." The pool's glass walls rose up, it was the stage Misty and her sisters had used for under water plays in the past. 

Ash gave Ashimi a bright yellow balloon, "in the distant past, the Aura Guardians were the protectors of the people and pokemon, so here's something to protect. If it pops you lose, if you let it go and it floats away, it's game over if you don't recover it before it reaches the surface." 

Ashimi looked towards her mother, "where's yours?"

"I'm not the one taking the test here," Misty teased with a smile. She handed Ashimi a mask with a device to breath underwater, she also had one for herself. "You have to stay under water, you can breathe with this," Misty knew her daughter had used the device before, so she was already familiar with it.

"Okay, so I have to swim around underwater without surfacing, I'll also have to protect this balloon, which would probably pop pretty easily, and all the while you'll be trying to pop it." To top it all up, Ashimi would be paired with Squirtle, who needed some serious training. She couldn't help it but to feel as if this was all done on purpose. 

"That's the basic idea," Misty nodded. "Don't forget you have to knock out my pokemon before yours is knocked out," the Cerulean gym leader added. "You can help Squirtle in any way you want, and I can help Starmie too."

Though Ashimi tried to stay positive, she knew that the challenge ahead was not an easy one and she wouldn't be able to continue her pokemon journey until she won. Ashimi made sure the mask was secured over her nose and mouth and stood at the edge of the pool. The silver mask reminded her of the ones the ninja wore in Mortal Kombat 25, which she played in secret at Johnny's house, as her mother would probably insist that she was too young for such gore. Honestly, it wasn't the gore which made her want to play, it was the fact that it was forbidden, though she still insisted the blood looked like ketchup. She had changed into a bathing suit and Squirtle stood nervously beside her. "It's okay, Squirtle," her voice sounded a bit odd under the mask, but being able to speak underwater would certainly be useful. "I'll be there underwater with you, you don't need to worry, just do your best."

Misty had gone to the opposite side of the pool with a mask like Ashimi's and Starmie was beside her. "Begin!" Ash called out from the glass pool's side.

Misty, Ashimi and their pokemon dove underwater. Ashimi allowed herself to fall on her back, shielding the yellow balloon with her body from the impact of the water. She held it, feeling the rubber move and stretch as it tried to float away. 'Aura shield, keep the currents soft...' It was an ancient technique and a relatively simple one. People believed water to be a source of life, that is beyond the physical necessity for it. As such, the ancient Azure tribe, where Aquamarine was said to have lived, spent a lot of time studying how to influence water with their aura. 'Calm the tides...'

"Starmie, water gun!" Misty took the initiative. Squirtle squeaked and retreated into his shell. The current harshly pushed Squirtle away to crash against the side of the pool, which was thankfully made of reinforced glass. 

"Don't give up, Squirtle!" Bubbles came out of the small machinery on the mask, as Ashimi tried to get her pokemon to seriously battle. "You can do it Squirtle, counter attack with a water gun of your own!"

"Starmie, tackle!" Misty went on the offensive again. Starmie spun rapidly underwater and crashed into Squirtle harshly. 

There was a cracking sound, though only Ashimi was close enough to notice what it was. 'Squirtle's shell... It's taken too much punishment over the course of the journey, but I won't ask mom to go easy on me and I won't risk Squirtle getting hurt either, I'll just have to do this myself.' "Squirtle! I'll show you there's nothing to be afraid of! Use ice beam, then you can hang back if you want, you won't have to fight anymore if you're not ready. It's up to me to train you after all, to lead with the example."

Both Squirtle and Misty were puzzled by Ashimi's words. The little turtle took the opportunity and peeked out from his cracked shell, letting out an ice beam under water. "Watch out, Starmie!" misty warned, but the pokemon was able to dodge the ice beam without any problems.

A line of ice appeared were the beam passed, freezing the water into a sort of icy spear. Ashimi gave the balloon to Squirtle, "protect this, make sure it doesn't pop, don't move, I'll take care of things now." Ashimi grabbed the ice spear, the contact was not pleasant on her hands, but she gripped it tightly anyway and kicked her legs to move herself through the water. She was a fast swimmer, having begun to learn to swim at the same time she learned to walk. 

'I definitely shouldn't have told her she could help in the battle,' Misty thought, the fact that Ash had gotten so into the battle that he started cheering along with Pichu and Pikachu at the clever move wasn't helping either. 'Like father, like daughter.' "Starmie, dodge that ice spear!" Misty rushed forward, intent on taking the weapon out of her daughter's hands. Just as Starmie dodged Ashimi's charge, she threw the ice spear it, focusing her aura to try to throw it harder. "Starmie, reverse!" Starmie would spin as it moved underwater, it made approaching it dangerous and added a boost in speed, but sudden changes of direction were not so easy to perform. It was too late, the spear of ice crashed against Starmie and then shattered on impact. Misty tried to end the battle quickly. Ashimi would probably throw herself in the way of Starmie's attack to save the balloon, so much for those aura meditation exercises calming her rashness, then again, they didn't change that in Ash either. "Got you!" If Misty could restrain her daughter while Starmie popped the balloon Squirtle gingerly held, then the battle would be over. 

The strange part was that rather than flailing to escape, Ashimi brought her arms and legs close to her body, bending her elbows and knees in a fetal position with her hands under her chin. Misty expected her to put up a fight when she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, but she was still. Then suddenly, she stretched out her arms in a fluid motion to free herself and stretched her legs to push herself forward, away from the stunned Misty. The elder swimmer didn't even fell that much strength in the move, yet Ashimi managed to slip away. "Sorry mom, but Dorme gave me some pretty good martial arts pointers when she taught me how to wear makeup." Ashimi shot forward while Starmie made it past the floating shards of ice, moving towards Squirtle. "Down, Squirtle, sink on your back!" The small turtle obeyed, protecting the balloon from the friction of the water.

Misty knew that no matter how fast she went, Ashimi couldn't possibly make it in time to intercept Starmie's attack. "Starmie, water gun at the balloon!" The strong current should be enough to pop it.

"Let the balloon go! I'll take the hit!" Ashimi rushed over, but she wasn't going to make it on time. Instead Squirtle shielded the balloon, which continue to float upward. Ashimi rushed towards it instead and was able to hold it before it reached the surface. The rubber was stretched and pale in some areas. She would have to protect it with her aura shield at all times now, or it would pop at any second. Squirtle was below and Starmie was closer to Ashimi. If she could conjure a ball of aura of sufficient power in her hands, she could throw it at Starmie, but she couldn't, and a small portion of aura just wouldn't be strong enough. "Squirtle, are you alright? You took the hit..."

Misty saw the slight change in the current around Ashimi and the way the water around the balloon softly glowed. Popping it would be more difficult now that it was under her aura's protection. However, it looked like Squirtle wasn't doing all that great. As sorry as she felt for the little turtle, she had to end this battle. She promised herself she wouldn't go easy on Ashimi, it was the only way to know that she would be able to safely continue her journey. "Starmie, knock out Squirtle, water gun!" As expected, Squirtle retreated in fright. Before the turtle could recover, she'd send Starmie to tackle him and that should finish the battle. Just in case, Misty began to swim towards Ashimi, to try to make her drop the balloon if it came to that. The bright yellow color was stretched to near white in some areas, it wouldn't withstand being exposed to the currents without the protection of the aura shield.

Squirtle did little more than endure the hit of Starmie's water gun. He always got scared and didn't react fast enough to dodge, despite Ashimi calling out to him in warning. His shell cracked deeply, but Misty had her eyes focused on Ashimi and didn't notice, she would have called off the battle if she had known what was going on with Squirtle. Pain rippled through Ash's senses and he gasped. Starmie's water gun came to an end and the pool was filled with bubbles, he couldn't see what was happening to Squirtle but he could sense the pokemon's great distress. He opened his mouth to call out and tell them something was wrong, to end the battle, but he didn't have time to do it. As soon as Starmie's water gun concluded, Misty had ordered a tackle, but Ashimi had already positioned herself to kick Starmie in the center of the jewel before it could initiate the next attack, while still protectively holding the balloon in her arms. Ashimi might have Misty's red hair, but she certainly had Ash's spirit.

The kick delayed Starmie's attack, but Ashimi saw her mother swimming towards her and knew that if she tried to steal the balloon she'd be in trouble. Misty had a look in her eyes that just screamed tickle fight and Ashimi knew that she'd lose her concentration, and with it the aura shield, if it came to that. "Squirtle, bubbles!" Ashimi tried to swim away as fast as she could while maintaining the shield. A spray of bubbles assaulted Starmie and formed a barrier separating Misty from Ashimi. 

Ash snapped himself out of his wonderment with the battle and refocused on Squirtle. "Misty, Ashimi, Squirtle is-"

"Going to win this!" Ashimi interrupted. She had made it to Squirtle, with one arm around the balloon and the other on his shell, holding it closed and easing the pain. Being underwater somehow made defense and recovery techniques easier to perform simultaneously. "Bubbles! Ice beam!"

'I can't see through these bubbles!' Misty tried to swim through the bubbles, but didn't make it to Starmie in time. "Starmie, be careful!" She knew her pokemon wouldn't be able to know which way to move with all the bubbles, but she was in the same situation and couldn't offer directions. Finally she spotted Ashimi with a spear of ice heading toward Starmie, still keeping the balloon protected. "She's coming from above and to the right, dodge that ice spear!" Ashimi's hit missed as the bubbles finally cleared up enough to see, the only thick bubbles still present were below, closer to Squirtle, as if making a futile effort to hide his location. 

This time Ashimi didn't throw the spear as hard, probably because she was focusing her aura on shielding the balloon. Misty was able to grab onto the ice as it went past its target, holding on to it despite how uncomfortable the cold felt. "This ends now! Starmie, charge!" Misty pushed herself deeper into the pull towards the bubbles. If she tried to go after Ashimi again, she was far enough to make a getaway, so she would change her tactics and target Squirtle. Ash was right, those hands on pokemon battles were certainly exciting! 'If Starmie doesn't knock Squirtle out, I'll do it myself!'

"Now, Squirtle!" Behind the bubbles there was another spear of ice. Squirtle pushed it forward with his strongest water gun. The ice shot up like a big ice bullet, flew next to Misty and found its target at the center of Starmie's jewel. Starmie finally had enough, the jewel flashed on and off until it turned dim, the sea star pokemon had fainted.

Misty stopped in her charge, eyes wide in disbelief. "I... I lost..." Despite not having won, a smile formed on her lips. "Congratulations, Ashimi!"

"Thanks mom, that was an awesome battle! Can I stop protecting this balloon now?" Honestly, Ashimi was quite tired of it.

"Of course, the battle is over now," Misty laughed. 

Ashimi let the balloon go, the rubber deflated and rose to float on the surface of the pool. She made her way to Squirtle and hugged him. "It's okay Squirtle, I'll get you all healed up. We need to work on your dodging, but you're pretty tough, so you can be proud of that!"

"What?!" Misty gasped. "His shell! But how? I didn't notice that before!"

"It's a fake shell anyway, I guess an imitation isn't as good as the real thing. Squirtle lost his real shell before I got him and is scared of battling, but taking hits is harder than dodging them, so he's tougher than he knows." Ashimi smiled at the little turtle, who for once, actually felt accomplished, even if he was close to fainting.

"That's what I was trying to say," Ash pointed out as the pool was lowered into the floor and Misty and Ashimi surfaced. Misty had recalled Starmie, while Ashimi had Squirtle in her arms. "I sensed there was something distressing Squirtle, but now he's happy, he's glad to have faced his fears." Let me heal him, then we can get him a new shell at the pokemon center. It won't be as strong as a real one, but he'll probably get a new one if he evolves."

Ashimi smiled. "See, Squirtle? All you needed is a little confidence."

"Still, you're pretty reckless," Misty ruffled her daughter's wet hair.

"Aw c'mon mom, you loved using the ice spear, I saw it in your eyes when you got a hold of it," Ashimi giggled.

"I think she's got a point," Ash teased.

"I guess a certain someone has rubbed off on me," Misty playfully countered. "By the way, when did you wear makeup? I don't recall seeing that."

"Not for long," Ashimi shrugged. "I thought the martial arts advice was more interesting," she admitted, which seemed to amuse her mother. Ashimi was a bit of a tomboy at times, much like her sisters would claim Misty was. 

"Let's not forget this," Ash held out something in his closed palm to Misty, who took it.

"I hereby officially grant you a cascade badge," the Cerulean gym leader gave the water drop shaped badge to her daughter.

"Wow, really? I thought it was just a test, I didn't know it counted for a badge battle!" Ashimi was overjoyed. 

"You've come very far on your journey and I know you'll continue to improve," Misty commended.

"If it pleases my beautiful mermaids, how about we go out to a celebratory dinner after we're done at the pokemon center?" Ash knew exactly what the answer would be.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 18: Who's That Pokemon?

With a cascade badge to add to her collection, Ashimi was ready to continue her pokemon journey. Jonathan and Zero met her at Cerulean City and once again they were on their way. Their next destination was Fuchsia City, where Ashimi would challenge the gym leader for a soul badge. Ashimi shared stories of her training, though she admitted she was looking forward to giving the whole aura deal a more hands on approach. "Did you go on any interesting missions?" She asked.

"You could say that," Jonathan replied. Interesting was certainly one way to describe what had happened. "We managed to catch a psychic, but he didn't have any useful information. It turns out he couldn't take Sabrina's training and left the Espers. He was trying to join Tornado, but he was apparently never in direct contact with their leader, if they even have a leader. Their whole perspective about being an organization without a real structure, a very dispersed and disorganized organization, is making them very slippery. They move like small time vigilantes that would normally have no effect on Team Rocket, but are aiming for the top. Either way, Sabrina is still the main target since she was the one who dared to make a move against you." All through that, Jonathan didn't mention, that he still kept all his confusion regarding Jaina. He worried about his parents' possible rash and dangerous reaction, so he had not told them.

"Things have gotten so complicated," Ashimi mused aloud. "But I guess they were never truly simple in the first place. What about you, Zero, did you do anything interesting?"

"Nothing unusual," Zero admitted. "I took a break and played lots of video games."

"Sounds fun," Ashimi smiled. "I made sure to pack all my handhelds too."

"Of course, you play games while I drive you around and meanwhile I barely get any game time. I'm going to fall way behind my guild on every MMO if I don't do some serious level grinding soon," Jonathan complained.

Ashimi only grinned, "I could take the wheel," she offered.

"Not until the boss says it's okay." The mention of Giovanni made Jonathan sink back into his thoughts, as his conversation with Jaina that night at the Lavender Town graveyard replayed in his mind, and he grew quiet. Ashimi didn't find his sudden silence to be strange. She thought he was just getting a little melancholy due to his lack of MMO leveling lately.

xoxox xox xoxox

The road trip continued pretty calmly. With Team Rocket still on the hunt for Sabrina, it looked like Daala and Jaina were not feeling in the liberty to make a move. Thus, with nothing to delay them, Ashimi, Jonathan and Zero made it to Fuchsia City without any problems. It was late at night so they went to rest at the pokemon center. When the morning came, Ashimi was eager to leave towards the gym. Zero followed her without protest, but Jonathan had to drag himself out of bed. The good news was that he caught up with the MMO guild he was in, the bad news was that he didn't get any sleep until half an hour before he had to get up. Yawning with every step he stopped at a cafe near the pokemon center for coffee. Ashimi settled for a large muffin that she had to hold with both hands due to its size, the same could be said of Jonathan's ice coffee, which was piled with cream.

Feeling more awake, they made it into the Fuchsia gym, which was decorated dojo style. They expected various traps to be set up, but it looked like the ninja were not up to their usual tricks. The gym had been passed down from one ninja to another in the clan and sometimes more than one served as an active gym leader, taking turns with the battles. Upon reaching the arena area they found two ninja at the other side. Their black clothes hid their identity, with their faces and even their hair concealed. They both wore odd metal chokers that looked too distinctly mechanical to be mere decorations. Ashimi could tell that the ninja were a man and a woman, but that was all she could figure out just by looking at them. 

The two ninja made a series of poses, then they each held out a pokeball as if challenging her without spoken words. "Two on two?" Ashimi interpreted, but the ninja shook their heads in unison. She thought they meant it would be one on one and they intended to decide which of them would battle based on what pokemon she sent out. Zubat had won her a boulder badge, Pichu a marsh badge, Chari a thunder badge, Furball a rainbow badge, Squirtle a cascade badge, but since they started getting along Ashimi hadn't participated in a big non-training battle with Clefable and she was certainly looking forward to it. "Clefable, I choose you!" The pink pokemon emerged from her pokeball, eager to battle. 

The two ninja responded by releasing both their pokemon from their pokeballs. The pokemon also had strange collars, though they were slightly different and bulkier than those worn by the ninja. The fact that they were wearing collars was about all Ashimi could see of the pokemon just by looking at them. The pokemon were surrounded in a black mist and appeared as nothing more than ghostly shadows, but that didn't mean they were ghost types. It was the machines around their necks which concealed their identity. "Who's that pokemon?"

Ashimi pulled out her cell phone and activated the pokedex app. However, the device's only response was to say, "pokemon unknown."

Ashimi looked at Zero, who stared intensely at the shadowy figures on the arena, then shook his head. She stared at the pokemon as well, reaching out with their aura to try to sense their types. She felt no heat, or chill, or jolt or anything. The Fuchsia gym was known for its poison type pokemon, but if they were going to stick with the program it wouldn't make sense to hide their pokemon like that. Suspiciously, Ashimi noticed that several small lights on the two pokemon collars lit for a moment, then went out again. She tried to focus on the ninja, trying to get some sort of clue from their energy, but she got a similar reaction from the collars they wore and no new information about their pokemon's identities.

The ninja grew impatient and went on the attack, "tackle." The female ninja commanded, her voice was warped and unrecognizable, an effect added by the collars the ninja wore.

"Be careful, Clefable!" Seeing as both mysterious pokemon were attacking at once, Ashimi assumed this was a two on two battle, with both pairs battling at the same time. She was about to call out another pokemon, when the ninja signaled for her to stop. "What? This is supposed to be two on one?" The two ninja nodded in confirmation. "Fine, we can deal with that, right, Clefable?" The pink pokemon, who had safely dodged the attacks so far, replied with the same determination her trainer held. "Sing!" That should slow down the attackers and it would get them both at once. Clefable's melodious voice run out through the arena, in a lullaby that was making the pokemon, the ninja, and the spectators all sleepy, save for Zero, who could resist it due to his unusual nature. 'Stay awake, stay awake!' Ashimi mentally shouted at herself, trying to focus her aura on resisting the sweet melody.

"Sand attack..." The male ninja muttered sleepily, the two black clad figures leaning on each other to stay on their feet. The mysterious pair of pokemon kicked aside one of the tatami floor boards of the arena to reveal the sand below, it would be easy to dig through, albeit that was obviously not their plan. The pokemon kicked up quite the storm of sand despite their movements being sluggish with sleep at first. 

Clefable tried to keep up her sweet tune, but the sand was too much and she began to cough and covered her mouth with her pink paws. As the song ended, the rival pokemon became more alert, kicking up more sand and threatening to suffocate Clefable with it. The sand wouldn't be much of a problem if it wasn't flying through the air, it was time to go on the defensive, then attack again. "Clefable, dig!" Tossing aside another of the tatami mats closer to her as she had seen the other pokemon do, Clefable prepared to go under the area. Unfortunately, she was met with the unpleasant surprise of poisonous gas spraying up from beneath the floor. The purple gas hit Clefable right in the face and made her stumble back, trying to catch her breath and coughing wildly. 

"A trap..." Ashimi realized all too late. 'How could I have missed that? This gym is known for its traps, just because the ninja didn't activate any on the way to the center of the dojo, doesn't mean that the traps at the arena itself were disabled too.' She was normally more intuitive than this. Shouldn't she be able to perceive more now that she had the aura? But not even her father used the aura all the time. Then she recalled what Sabrina had said, there was always a price to pay. It was no wonder Ash didn't rely on the aura all the time despite its effectiveness, he didn't want to dull the value of plain old observation. She had been so sensitive to aura for so long lately and so focused on learning how to control it, she forgot to use it as a complement to more commonly practical means. "I'm sorry, Clefable, that was my fault, but it won't happen again!"

"Quick attack," both ninja called out at once, intent on putting an end to Clefable's opposition as fast as they could.

The poisonous gas stopped, but Ashimi wouldn't fall for the same trap twice. surely there was someone watching the battle and controlling the traps to aid the ninja. It did fit the theme of being outnumbered. Thinking outside of the box, Ashimi tried to stretch her senses and felt a presence behind the wall on the opposite side of the arena, but it was too far for her to tell who it could be at her current level; though whoever it was, wasn't wearing any devices to hide from her, as if they assumed she wouldn't look too far. "Clefable, the poison gas might come out again at any second, pick up the tatami mat... now swing!" Clefable swung the tatami mat like an oddly shaped bat and the two pokemon got their heads stuck on it. They move in coordination, almost as one, though there were clearly two of them. 

Though the ninja's faces were covered, their change in posture expressed surprise. Ashimi grinned, she had warned Clefable about the poison, told her to pick up the tatami mat, but she had no intentions of putting it back in its place like the ninja assumed. "Clefable, run behind them and use heal bell while they're distracted!" It seemed illogical to waste time moving away if Ashimi's intention was to go on the defensive rather than attack, but she had a good reason to do so. Clefable decided to trust her, the tatami mat idea had worked after all. So far the attacks that the ninja's pokemon had use were not very telling of their true identity. But after struggling with the tatami mat, the ninja would know that they had to step up their game and Ashimi would get an idea of what she could expect if Clefable did get too close to the other pokemon. 

The male ninja looked at his female ally and she nodded as if approving of his silent suggestion. Then he went on the offensive, "water gun!" 

"Dodge it Clefable and use thunderbolt!" The fact that the ninja's pokemon had to turn around before it could fire its water gun at Clefable, after it had freed itself from the tatami mat, gave the pink pokemon just enough time to dodge and counter attack. She was cured from the poison thanks to the effects of heal bell, so she didn't have to worry about that slowing her down. Thunder attacks had become Ashimi's signature move, as they were for her father, and if there was a chance that a pokemon of hers could learn it, she would certainly be glad to train them for that purpose. After all, while she trained her aura, her pokemon did take a break, but they didn't lazy about all day. Seeing their trainer working hard, they took the time to train too and Pichu even got some pointers from his father, which he shared with his friends.

"Volt switch!" The female ninja called out at the last second. The other mysterious pokemon was quickly on the move. The shadowy creature pushed its ally out of the way, using its own electricity to attract Clefable's attack and return a portion of it. Clefable was hit by the electric bolts, though so was the other pokemon, albeit it was not very effective.

"An electric type and a water type," Ashimi voiced. Because of how they moved around, Clefable was now closer to the spot where the opponents' sand attack had taken place. Yet digging was too risky, who knew what kind of traps were under the arena, then she got an idea. Ashimi went on her knees, touching the edge of the arena with her open palms. "Dig, Clefable!" She closed her eyes and sensed. "Stop, move right... keep going... slowly... slowly... turn... turn... some more... keep turning... don't stay still... forward... that's it... get ready for your specialty... keep moving... don't stop... careful... that's the way..."

The ninja's heads turned to look at each other, then back at the arena. They didn't know where Clefable was, but Ashimi was guiding her to avoid the traps under the tatami mats. That meant she had to be under one of the mats that wasn't set as a trap. They knew the layout of the arena, so they began trying to pinpoint where Clefable was. "Dig her out!" The male ninja commanded.

"Zap her when she comes out!" The female ninja added. The two pokemon cloaked in shadows began working together, lifting the tatami mats that the ninja pointed out to them. The water type dug, while the electric type stood by in vigilance, ready to attack at the first sign of something pink beneath the sand.

They were doing the same thing Ashimi had done, trying to rely on something big and forgetting to use it as a compliment to something basic. They had the full knowledge of the traps and they thought they could use that as a resource to outwit her, but they were in fact revealing the traps. As for Ashimi, if she focused hard she could sense some of the traps nearest to Clefable, her energy resonating off the pokemon, rather than crawling and scanning the floor as her posture deceivingly hinted. But hey, the ninja were playing mind games with her and being all misleading too, so why shouldn't she? Other than a few of the traps, Ashimi didn't know where the others were and she was worried about a domino effect being set off, so she relied on secretly guiding Clefable through the same area, turning back and forth with such carefully phrased commands that they may not be so easy to figure out, unless her opponents paid close attention. Yet they were so focused on the field advantage they had, that they didn't try to take the other small advantages that might present themselves. 

"Where is she?" The male ninja voiced.

"She's moving around too much!" The female ninja impatiently complained.

Clefable had gotten the hang of the deception, moving between the same safe areas and listening to the sounds above her to make sure she wasn't under the area that the opposing pokemon were searching. Ashimi could leave Clefable to her own devices for a moment and search for more information to help her. It was a good thing she did, because she sensed something changing in the flow of energy from whoever was beyond the opposite wall. Her aura was not sharp enough to figure out the person's intention like her father might be able to do, but her instinct told her this was bad. When the ninja told their pokemon to stop digging, Ashimi's suspicions peaked and she urgently called out to Clefable. "Now Clefable, jump out and attack with metronome!" After the tunnel had been dug, Clefable could move around, as the dirt below the first layer of sand was thicker and wouldn't collapse in itself as easily. The ground above where Clefable was had been disturbed, but that didn't reveal her path because the same could be said for all the areas were the ninja's pokemon had dug. Her time moving back and forth gave her the chance to prepare for what Ashimi referred to as her specialty, metronome. With her fingers already glowing, the pink pokemon jumped out and released the energy she had accumulated. 

There was a flash of light and an explosion as the two shadowy pokemon were tossed left and right. Their collars cracked and ceased to function, damaged by the direct proximity of the attack. "I knew it..." Jonathan whispered under his breath. He had not known about this beforehand, but he caught on almost immediately. 

Ashimi's suspicions were confirmed. "I know who you are..." The traps in the gym weren't active, only the ninja clan knew how to operate the dojo they built, even if they were allied to Team Rocket. If Rocket agents came by after her intention to battle at the Fuchsia gym in the near future was known, they might only have time to learn how to operate the arena traps. Plus she would get a false sense of security by making it to the arena easily. The collars were too convenient at blocking aura and also at detecting its intensity, as they lit up whenever she used it. Yet only a few people should know Ashimi even started using aura, or that she even could, as it wasn't always inherited by a descendant of an aura user. This was a test from Giovanni to see how well she had adapted, and how useful her new skills could be in battle. 

Ash had tested her defense, now Giovanni had sent some Rockets to test how well she could break through their defenses, of course they would volunteer, they always volunteered for every mission they could when they weren't busy with their regular Rocket duties. Plus there were the poses at the start and the look of recognition on Johnny's face. He must have realized something and must have had a good reason why he couldn't say it. Now, seeing the male Vaporeon and female Jolteon without their shadowy cover, Ashimi recognized them right away. They were Foxtrot's siblings, a pair of mischievous twins that Jonathan had to closely guard his candy stash from, ever since their days as Eevee. They were a bit rowdy in their play and sometimes used attacks indoors, which was against the rules established by Jessie and James, for the sake of avoiding property damage. It was up to their older brother, Foxtrot, to keep an eye on them, when they slipped away from Growly and Flare. "Jessie and James!" 

Seeing as they had been discovered, they saw no reason to continue hiding. Jessie and James, removed their masks and collars, tossing them aside with a glamorous flare. The one controlling the traps behind the far wall opened a hidden door and jumped out, Meowth held a control pad with a small screen on it, were he could see the entire arena via a hidden camera on the ceiling. Once again, for old times' sake, Jessie made a pose, "prepare for trouble!"

"The likes of which you'd never foresee!" James continued, also posing dramatically.

"Coming at you times three!" Jonathan joined in.

"Johnny!" Ashimi half scolded, stifling a giggle.

"Sorry Ashy, the oath is a family tradition, I can't resist," Jonathan made it to the other side of the arena, making poses along with his parents.

Ashimi laughed, "I can't hold it against you, it does look fun." She looked at Clefable and made a discreet gesture with her hand, which went unnoticed by everyone else other than the intended recipient of the message.

"To protect the world from devastation!" 

"To unite all people in the Rocket nation!"

"To fill the world with great elation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"And become the brightest thereof!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Johnny!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"You can never win against our might!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Purrrr!" Nya popped out of her pokeball just on time to accentuate her father's final line of the motto.

"Bravo!" Zero clapped.

"Great performance!" Ashimi applauded.

The Rockets took a vow, then Jessie and James called out simultaneously, "Attack!"

Jolteon and Vaporeon charged forward. "Thuderbolt!" Jessie commanded.

"Water gun!" James swiftly added.

"Metronome!" Ashimi cheered. Clefable had spent the entire duration of the motto charging her psychic energy until she thought she would burst. Not only her fingers, but her entire body was glowing brighter than ever before. She released the massive energy in an explosion of light, her telekinesis momentarily going wild with the great force. Tatami mats were sent flying in every direction and several of the traps on the arena became active, causing a chain reaction. Meowth gasped as the control pad he was holding began to spark, he threw it in alarm and it exploded in the air along with several other traps. Clefable's out of control burst of telekinesis had unearthed the bombs, which exploded simultaneously in a brilliant flash of light. 

The rooftop of the gym was blown clear off and out flew Jolteon, Vaporeon, Jessie, James, Johnny, Meowth, Zero and even Ashimi. "We're blasting off again!" Jessie and James' voices echoed as they took to the skies. Unlike his parents, Johnny had never been sent blasting off before, though he had heard the stories. Ashimi knew the stories as well, and as she was thrown across the sky, she wondered what her father did to make sure he didn't get caught in the blasts all those times in the past.

Back at the Fuchsia gym arena, or what was left of it, Clefable looked around in a daze, standing in the middle of the destruction. "Fable?" She saw Nya calmly grooming her lavender fur in the middle of the arena, unhurt, as if the explosions didn't just happen next to her. Clefable didn't understand, sure, she was glad the cute young pokemon wasn't hurt, the little Purrloin was a sweetie to everyone, but still, the pink pokemon couldn't figure out how she managed to come out of the blast unharmed. "Clef..." Clefable let out a breath and decided to be thankful for the small miracle. She hoped the others didn't have too much of a harsh landing.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 16: The female werewolf Dorme mentioned is Aayla from Don't Give Me diamonds, who was not actually a werewolf at all, but was mistaken for one... and she wasn't a furry either, she was a... Read the story if you haven't already and find out, either way, it's only a small reference that you don't need to understand in order to follow the plot of Awakening. I thought it would be nice to thrown in some continuity, even if it's just in small details. We all know James collects bottle caps... Johnny collects comics, but this story takes place in the future and paper is already outdated today as it is, so he collects them digitally. Of course, Dorme knows what an exabyte is because each generation is more technologically proficient than the last, so this is not an odd term for them. If you haven't heard it before, the most simple explanation is that an exabyte is a thousand petabytes, a petabyte is a thousand terabytes and I'm sure you can take it from there. The armor Pixel wears in this chapter looks kind of similar to Calhoun's armor in Wreck it Ralph.

Chapter 17: Dr. Fuji is the scientists from Mewtwo Strikes Back. Binks, Aayla, Luke, Comet and Pixel are all original characters, part of the supporting cast of Don't Give Me Diamonds.


	7. Chapter 7

Awakening

Chapter 19: Wild Safari (Part 1)

Having recovered from the blast off, the next day, Ashimi, Jonathan and Zero decided to visit the Safari Zone, after Zero had suddenly declared he wanted a pokemon of his own. The notion had seemed illogical to him at first, how could a virtual android who didn't even function properly do what was meant to be done by a human? Yet Comet and Pixel had suggested it, so in the end he decided, why not? If an explosion and being thrown across the sky was the worst that could happen, and it didn't happen all that often, then it wasn't so bad. Besides, maybe the pokemon wouldn't care about his origins, his friends and their pokemon didn't.

"Here we are, the Safari Zone!" They had gone through the front office and made it to the expanse of land designated for the special zone. Ashimi grinned widely as the memories associated with the place swam through her mind. "I haven't been here in over a year, last time I was having a picnic with dad. Actually, we used to come yearly, right around this time." Her eyes sparkled and her friends knew what was coming. "Let's have a picnic! We didn't bring a basket, but we could probably find one at the gift shop, dad always says the shop gets bigger every time he sees it. We'll fill it with treats and get a checkered blanket too!"

"Pizza burgers!" Jonathan and Zero cheered in unison. The peculiar combination started out as one of Comet's experiments when he ate at the Viridian HQ cafeteria, and ended up as a hit dish distributed through various regions by a fast food chain secretly owned by Team Rocket.

Not long after the sudden unanimous choice of a picnic, the three friends had raided the Safari Zone shops and now had a big picnic basket in their possession. Jonathan held the basket while Ashimi navigated the tall grass, looking for the same spot she usually ate at with her father. The grass had really grown since she was last there and she wondered if the clearing even existed anymore or if it had been invaded and consumed by the grass around it.

"A pokemon!" Zero suddenly exclaimed.

Ashimi noticed then that she had lost track of him in the tall grass. It had been allowed to grow so much that she couldn't see over the top. 'Not even Johnny can see above this grass,' the thought reminded her that he held their picnic basket and, even if she found the elusive clearing, there wouldn't be a picnic without it. "Zero! Johnny!"

There was some rustling in the grass, but it seemed to be moving away. "Ashimi, Nidoran's getting away! I got him by the tail!" Zero's voice came from somewhere in the tall grass. "Come back here!"

The rustling sped up, moving away quickly, until Ashimi could no longer hear it. "Zero? Oh man, I don't want to miss this! Johnny, which way did he go?" There was no reply, "Johnny?" She pouted, "great, I lost them both." She kept going forward and finally made it out of the tall grass. Yet this wasn't the clearing she remembered, instead she found a pair of small ponds. A Magikarp was hopping out of the water from one pond to another. Tired from the exercise, the Magikarp's jump fell short and he flopped helplessly on the grass. Realizing that someone was watching, the Magikarp paused, then tried to hurry along back to either of the ponds, seemingly embarrassed. Ashimi couldn't help it but to giggle at the creature's antics. "Here you go little guy," she picked up the fish and put him into the nearest pond. The Magikarp swam around before once again jumping to the next pond and back. "That's some work out, keep at it!" 

Ashimi continued on her way, letting out an annoyed breath at the tall grass that turned the Safari Zone into a maze. "Man, when was the last time they mowed the lawn around here? If I had to take a guess, I'd say it was right before dad and I came on that picnic last year." Once again she braved the tall grass, trying to continue on in a straight line. After a while, she finally reached a large clearing. It wasn't the same one she was looking for, but she gave up on that as she suspected that her clearing had been invaded by the overgrown grass and could no longer be called a clearing. At least she made it out of the tall grass and found Zero.

"I'm going to catch you, Nidoran!" Zero was chasing a small male Nidoran around, though the Nidoran didn't appear to be taking his challenge seriously.

"Do you even have any pokeballs with you?" Ashimi inquired.

"No, but that's okay, I want to walk with my pokemon, I'll get a pokeball later." Zero made a jump for the Nidoran, but the pokemon playfully dodged him. "Oh forget it, I'll never catch him." Zero sat down, looking solemn.

"Aw, c'mon, don't give up so easily," Ashimi tried to cheer him up. "Here," she pulled a pokeball out of her bag and gave it to him. "Take this pokeball and try again."

"It's alright, I'll just live without a pokemon." Zero closed his eyes and remained still while Nidoran gave him a curious look. 

"Are you debugging again?" Ashimi stared in curiosity. "I guess maybe it's kind of like high tech meditating... Not my specialty, with all the sitting still and everything."

Nidoran approached cautiously, wanting to continue their game, but not wanting to get caught so easily. Then suddenly in a fast motion Zero pounced on the pokemon. "I was only kidding about giving up, and now I got you!" The Nidoran squirmed, but was unable to free himself, so he bit Zero instead. "Ouch, not fair!" The pokemon jumped a few feet back, staring at the virtual boy with challenging eyes.

"Do you want to borrow Pichu?" Ashimi offered.

"No worries, I can do this on my own, let's not forget I'm part pokemon myself," Zero reminded.

"I thought you were only virtual, I mean just because the first virtual life form that was made was Porygon and served as a base for any other virtual life forms, does it really make you part pokemon if you can't use pokemon abilities? You can use pokedex abilities and you're certainly as adorable as a pokemon, but..." Ashimi mused aloud.

"Details, details!" Zero waved off her theories and picked up a stone from the ground, "rock throw!" The Nidoran dodged the rock at the last moment, only to find himself as the target of another. Soon there were rocks, pebbles, sticks and even blades of grass flying in his direction.

"That's one way to have a pokemon battle..." Ashimi laughed, "alright, go Zero!" She decided to cheer him on despite his unusual strategy.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, Jonathan had made it out of the maze of tall grass. He was sure he heard Jaina's voice, but now he wondered if he had just imagined it. He looked across the field where several Tauros were eating grass. "No one here but the pokemon..." He was about to turn around and go back into the tall grass to try to find Ashimi and Zero, but then a flicker of light from the corner of his eyes caught his attention. He looked into the distance beyond the Tauros where the light became brighter as it got ever closer. When the source of the light was close enough to be identified, Jonathan saw that it was a Rapidash, and the person riding her was none other than Daala. "Daala, what are you-" His line of questioning concerning her reasons for being there was interrupted by the Tauros running away from the fire pokemon in a sudden stampede. As survival instinct kicked in, Jonathan's primary concern became not to be flattened under their hooves. "Go Vaporeon!" Along with Vaporeon, Jolteon also jumped out of her pokeball. "Hey, I was only calling for your brother!" Yet the twins had been inseparable in their days as Eevee and evolution had not changed that. 

Finding himself surrounded by wild pokemon, Vaporeon was at a loss for what to do, so he melted into a puddle of water at Jonathan's feet, which caused him to slip and fall. Jolteon, who was generally more feisty than her twin, decided to shock the Tauros, which only got their attention. The heard realized that the Rapidash was no longer chasing them and instead turned their attention towards their attacker. They were at peace enjoying the fresh grass and the fire pokemon had caught them by surprise and startled them, but now they were ready to stand their ground. 

"Ow..." Jonathan picked himself off the ground to realized he was surrounded by angry Tauros that were glaring at him as if he was some unworthy rookie matador. Maybe taking Foxtrot's younger siblings along wasn't such a great idea after all. He thought it was when he saw how they battled for his parents, but that was different. Because of his special bond with the elder of Growly and Flare's children, the younger two looked at him as if he was the same as Foxtrot, another pokemon brother. They knew he was human, but they didn't acknowledge him as such and instead of listening to him in battle they turned it into one big game. "I should have known you two wouldn't change." 

One of the Tauros decided to end the glaring contest by running towards Jonathan. The teenager dodged, trying not to slip on Vaporeon. "Pull yourself together Vaporeon!" As he was surrounded, the Tauros that charged and missed him, ended up running into the one behind him. The two massive beasts locked horns and pushed against each other, tails whipping wildly. Some of the spectator Tauros were hit by the tails of the two who were fighting and decided to join the battle. 

Pretty soon the Tauros had forgotten all about Jolteon and her companions, and were locked in combat against each other. "Jolteon, Vaporeon, return! Let's get out of here!" Jonathan recalled his pokemon and clutched the picnic basket close. He tried to look for an opening in the mayhem that had formed. something hit him hard, probably the dull side of a horn, or a hoof, he wasn't sure. What he did know was that it knocked the wind out of him and threw him to the ground, the basket escaping his protecting embrace. "The basket!" He tried to reach for it, but it was too late, as the picnic basket and its delicious contents were crushed by the berserk Tauros and Jonathan had a feeling that soon he would be crushed too. 

He tried to stay on his feet but he kept getting knocked to the ground and a particularly heavy Tauros stepped on his ankle, making walking or even standing a very painful experience. He was knocked to the ground again. He wanted to call Foxtrot for help, but how could he? Starting a fire wouldn't help the situation, the Tauros were so crazed by that point that they probably didn't care if they were burned, besides, where would Foxtrot even stand? He would probably get stepped on by those monsters the second he was out of his pokeball. Jonathan felt Foxtrot's pokeball vibrate, "stay there, don't come out," he insisted as he tried to crawl out of the chaos. He forcefully met the ground and the last thing he saw before passing out was a red flash.

xoxox xox xoxox

The pain that assaulted him prevented Jonathan from continuing in the land of blissful unconsciousness. He felt something small and fuzzy licking his face and slowly opened his eyes to see Nya. In a flash of panic, he wrapped his arms around the lavender kitten in an effort to protect her from the threat that had already passed. The teen looked around to find himself in an entirely different area of the Safari Zone. In the distance, he saw a heard of Tauros fighting among themselves and even further still a flame that moved this way and that, as if searching for something, or someone. Nya purred and rubbed her head on his chin. 

Jonathan looked at the kitten with perplexity and not really expecting an answer he wondered, "how did we get here?" Nya only let out a soft high pitch meow and resumed her purring as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. In the distance, the flame of Daala's Rapidash became a wall of fire as the tall grass was ignited. "We better stop her, go back in your pokeball where it's safe, Nya." After returning the Purrloin to her pokeball, Jonathan called out Vaporeon. He wasn't surprised when Jolteon popped out as well, since one always followed the other. Unlike most Rockets, he didn't want to lock his pokeballs, not only because his pokemon could get him out of a jam if he found himself in a situation where he was unable to let them out, but also because they were his friends and locking them up didn't feel right. 

"Vaporeon, put that fire out! Jolteon, cover him!" The two eeveelutions began to playfully tackle each other, laughing merrily. "Are you even listening to me?" Jolteon was pulling her brother's ear, she let him go, went on her hind legs and jumped on Jonathan, wrapping her forelegs around his neck and nibbling on his ear. "Stop it, Jolteon!" He stumbled back as Vaporeon began to pull on his pant's leg. "Stop it, both of you! Foxtrot!" The Flareon jumped out of his pokeball and chased the two younger eeveelutions off his trainer. "Thanks, Foxtrot," Jonathan got up and dusted himself off, glaring at the mischievous pokemon twins. "The fire is spreading!"

"The fire is here!" Rapidash stopped a few feet away, her rider glaring at the Rocket, with flames burning behind her. "I'm not sure how you escaped the Tauros, but you won't escape me!" Daala challenged.

Vaporeon and Jolteon started pulling at Jonathan's pantlegs again, but on that occasion he wasted no time in shaking them off. "Stop it, both of you! If you repeat that incident again, I'll-" He couldn't think of a threat that he was actually willing to do and would somehow scare the twins into obedience. Foxtrot intervened and pointed out the obvious danger, which caused the twins to get into defensive positions. Vaporeon nodded at his older brother and dashed off to put the flames out, though he occasionally glanced at his sister. Jolteon's fur was full of sparks, ready to put up a fight.

xoxox xox xoxox

Some distance away, Zero and Nidoran were exchanging attacks, while Ashimi and Pichu cheered them on. Suddenly, a third contender joined the fight, the same Magikarp Ashimi had encountered before flopped and hopped, until it bumped into Nidoran in a sad attempt that couldn't quite be called a tackle. Nidoran slapped the fish away and got hit by a rock from Zero in his moment of distraction. Not wanting to be left out, Magikarp went on the attack again. "Hey! This is between me and Nidoran!" Zero complained as Nidoran batted the fish away with his tail.

"That's one stubborn Magikarp," Ashimi mused aloud. "Feistier than any other Magikarp I've ever seen."

The battle of Zero versus Nidoran evolved into some sort of odd wrestling match. The pokemon and the virtual boy were rolling around on the grass, with no rhyme or reason to their fight, just random tackling. Surprisingly, the same Magikarp returned, flipping around out of breath and clearly bruised. Zero and Nidoran were tangled in a mess of limbs, dirt and grass when the Magikarp hopped on top of the pile and wheezed in exhaustion, unable to do anything else.

Ashimi and Pichu fell into a fit of laughter at the scene before them. "It looks like Magikarp is going for the gold!"

"Maybe I should catch Magikarp instead," Zero considered.

Magikarp seemed to regain his energy at the words and quickly flopped off them. He hopped over to Ashimi and rubbed against her leg in his best impression of a cat, which wasn't all that great. "Looks like Magikarp likes me best." She grinned proudly and picked up the fish which promptly attempted to, eat her face? She pulled him off by the tail and threw him on the ground, "ew!" She wiped off the fish spit furiously.

"Oh yes, I can see he's madly in love with you, that would explain the kissing." Zero started making silly faces and exaggerated kissy noises. Nidoran rolled around laughing and soon joined in the teasing. The icing on the cake was Magikarp blushing bright red.

"Oh no... No-no, no-no, no-no, no!" Ashimi stepped back and frantically shook her head. "My father had pokemon fall in love with him and tackle him, and pop out of their pokeballs, and jump on him, and obsess over him, and all that stuff, and at times it gets to be a lot to deal with! If a pokemon must be in love with me why must it be a Magikarp?!" Ashimi dramatically declared.

With tears in his eyes, Magikarp flopped away as fast as he could, disappearing into the tall grass. "I think you hurt his feelings..." Zero stated obviously.

Nidoran nodded his head in agreement and shook his clawed finger in a scolding motion, as if saying, 'shame on you!'

Ashimi pouted, "but I wanted to catch him!"

"You did?" Zero blinked in surprise.

"Yeah!" Ashimi exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Magikarp evolve into Gyarados and that little guy had some real endurance and determination. He'll evolve into something awesome!" With that declaration left in the air, Ashimi ran off into the tall grass to look for Magikarp.

"Wait for me!" Zero ran after her to witness the rest of the hilariously ridiculous soap opera.

"Nido?" Nidoran pouted, feeling ignored. Wasn't that stubborn weird kid trying to catch him? They didn't even reach a definite result to their battle. Determined not to leave things as they were, Nidoran hurried after them through the tall grass.

xoxox xox xoxox

Daala released Houndour from his pokeball, to even out the field two on two. Rapidash, Houndour-" Before Daala could give an order, a scream interrupted their fight. Not too far from them, they spotted Jaina, surrounded by fire, with Gastly floating beside her.

"Vaporeon, help Jaina!" Vaporeon stared at his trainer. Foxtrot tried to enforce the instructions, but his younger brother didn't move. Jonathan let out an impatient breath. "Jolteon, go with him." Once his sister joined him, Vaporeon finally did as he was told. Those two functioned as a team or not at all, and even then they didn't listen to him as much as to his parents. Foxtrot's alarmed warning caught Jonathan's attention just on time for him to dodge out of the way of Rapidash's horn.

Foxtrot and Houndour became locked in a fierce battle, scratching, biting and tackling each other like ferocious beasts. Rapidash didn't turn back to attack Jonathan, instead she continued dashing off with Daala on her back. The flaming unicorn jumped over Vaporeon and Jolteon, landing right next to Jaina and shooting a fireball point blank at Gastly.

Gastly fell to the ground as if deflated and Jaina let out a cry of alarm. "Gastly!"

Daala extended her arm, leaning over the side of her mount and grabbed Jaina. The fierce rider threw the redhead on her Rapidash like a sack of potatoes and loudly announced, "all traitors to Tornado will be executed!" Then she dashed off again.

Houndour tried to follow his trainer in her get away, but Foxtrot refused to let him go. "Show him who's the strongest, Foxtrot, fire fang!" Then as soon as the Flareon had sunk his teeth into his opponent, "fire blast!"

The fire came from so close it caused enough pressure, friction and heat to hurt even a fire pokemon. Houndour was engulfed in flames and Foxtrot had to jump back. With a pained yet furious howl, Houndour rolled on the ground, got the fire problem under control and got back in the battle. He knew his orders were to flee and follow Daala, he knew his trainer would be concerned if he stayed behind, but he was so angry that he couldn't bring himself to run away. Enraged, he shot one fireball after another as if to redeem his fire's power and prove that it too was very strong.

Yet Foxtrot still had his trainer to guide him and keep him from getting so caught up in the battle that strategy was entirely forgotten to anger. "Keep your distance!" Foxtrot held back the urge to finish the fight and hung back, dodging the fireballs. Then when Houndour was forced to pause for breath, "now, finish this with strength!" Jonathan grinned victoriously and added, "repeatedly." Foxtrot was all too eager to finish the fight and attacked with everything he had until Houndour was knocked out.

xoxox xox xoxox

Some distance away, Daala stopped and jumped off Rapidash. Jaina got on the ground too and stretched. "You didn't have to throw me around like a sack of potatoes, you know," the redhead complained. "Ugh, any potatoes unfortunate enough to be transported by you will end up as mashed potatoes!" Noticing the other girl wasn't paying attention to her, she questioned, "Daala?"

"Where's Houndour? I thought he was right behind me. What if Team Rocket got him?" Without another second to waste, she hurried back to find her missing pokemon.

"What about the plan?" Jaina called after her.

"Rapidash, stay here and help with the plan," Daala disappeared into the tall grass.

Jaina let out an exasperated breath, "great," she grumbled. The original plan was for Daala to attack Jonathan and for Jaina to go to his rescue and nurse him back to health. Then he would trust her and they could use him against Ashimi. However, that plan didn't work out, as for some inexplicable reason, Jonathan was able to escape the Tauros. 

Instead they came up with an alternative plan, Jaina would pretend to have broken her alliance with Tornado and Daala would be getting rid of the traitor. Surely then Jonathan would be concerned for his sister and run off to save her. Even if he wouldn't find himself in her debt that way, perhaps playing hero would help soften him up a bit and shake the foundation of his loyalty, or at least that's what Jaina and Daala were hoping for. 

"Okay Rapidash, I'm going to pretend I fainted, when Jonathan gets here, fight him with everything you have." If Rapidash actually won, Jaina would go back to the original plan of playing hero and if Jonathan won, he would play hero for her.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 20: Wild Safari (Part 2)

Jonathan rushed off to find Jaina, having Vaporeon extinguish the remaining flames along the way. Daala came out of a patch of tall grass from the opposite direction. "What did you do with my Houndour, Rocket?"

"I knocked him out back there. What did you do with Jaina?" Jonathan demanded to know.

"Go find her yourself!" Daala ran past him towards Houndour.

Worried that Jaina was caught in some sort of trap, Jonathan decided not to pursue Daala, and instead went to find his sister. He dove into the tall grass, from which Daala had emerged, and got across to a clearing on the other side. There he found Jaina laying motionless on the ground, with Rapidash as her guard. "Jaina!"

From another patch of tall grass on the other side of the clearing, Ashimi emerged. "Johnny! Have you seen a Magikarp with kamikaze tendencies around here?"

Jonathan wasn't even sure he wanted to ask what that was about, "not really."

"Oh legendaries, he got away!" Ashimi pouted and after taking a second look at her surroundings she noticed the situation beyond the focus of her Magikarp hunt. "What's going on?"

"Jaina betrayed Tornado!" Maybe she could join Team Rocket and live a life that made up for the past. She might never forgive Giovanni, but she could still become friends with Ashimi, who would one day take his place. "I need to save her!"

Ashimi didn't quite understand Jonathan's determination, though she supposed that if Jaina was to be captured and questioned, she would need to be saved from a possible execution ordered by Tornado. Zero arrived soon after Ashimi, followed by Nidoran. "What did I miss?"

While Ashimi got Zero caught up on the recent happenings, Jonathan began the battle. "Go Vaporeon, water gun!" Vaporeon whimpered in response, exhausted from all the water he used to put out the fire before it continued to spread through the tall grass of the Safari Zone. He was looking rather dehydrated. "Okay, you can take a break." Jonathan decided not to recall Vaporeon and instead let him stay out beside him along with Foxtrot, since Jolteon would probably feel more comfortable with her twin around. Foxtrot had quite a battle with Houndour, so Jonathan let him rest and called upon Jolteon instead. "Jolteon, thunderbolt!"

Jolteon yawned uninterested and shot a burst of electricity that was easily dodged by Rapidash. The lightning passed close to Jaina, but it didn't strike her. Jolteon's ear twitched in curiosity as she repeated the motion, this time clearly missing Rapidash on purpose. Ashimi stood by, watching the happenings, she didn't want to interrupt Jonathan's battle but he was going nowhere fast, then there was the fact that Rapidash was without a trainer, though Ashimi assumed she was Daala's pokemon.

"Why won't you listen to me?" Jonathan asked in frustration.

To the teen's surprise, his eeveelutions actually gave a straight answer this time, which was translated by Zero. "They say it's because you always play favorites for their older brother. You even gave him a nickname to make it clear that when you called, you meant him and not all three of the Eevee."

"If I play favorites it's only because Foxtrot actually listens to me!" Jonathan defended.

Zero looked at Vaporeon and Jolteon, who were quick to argue in return. The virtual android continued to translate, "they're saying that you were always playing with the pokemon, so they saw you as another pokemon to play with, rather than a trainer. That's why they didn't do what you said, they just wanted to play. Then later when they were ready to accept you as their trainer you didn't give them a second chance and only wanted to train their brother."

"Is that how it is?" Jonathan looked at the eeveelutions. Foxtrot was saying something, Jonathan realized that he didn't need Zero to make a translation for the Flareon, he knew his loyal companion was trying to defend him. "It's okay, Foxtrot, you don't need to make excuses for me. I should have given them another chance to battle for me when they gave me another chance to prove myself as a trainer. Vaporeon, Jolteon, I'm sorry, can we try this one more time?" The water and electric eeveelutions looked at each other as if having a silent discussion of consideration, then they nodded in agreement. "Thanks, I won't let you down! Now lets finish this battle, thunderbolt!" Jonathan pointed at Rapidash, who wasn't sure how to react without Daala. She was the newest addition to her team and didn't have as much experience as her other pokemon. Jolteon shook her head and pointed at Jaina, "be careful not to hit Jaina," Jonathan agreed, but Jolteon only shook her head again.

"What is it?" Zero inquired.

Jolteon considered telling him, but then decided against it. She wanted her trainer to learn to understand her how he understood her older brother, without the need for a translation. Then suddenly she got an idea and signaled to Vaporeon. Foxtrot looked at the younger eeveelutions suspiciously, but everything happened too fast for him to stop them. In a matter of seconds, Vaporeon and Jolteon had succeeded in pulling Jonathan's pants down to his ankles. He was not expecting the assault and ended up tripping and falling flat on his face. This was worse than the last time it happened. 

Laughter filled the area with Ashimi's being the loudest. "Wait till I tell Dorme about this! Hahaha!"

"Don't you dare!" Twice had Ashimi witnessed an occurrence like this, the last time being attributed to the same pair of culprits. But at least on that occasion he had managed to stay on his feet, unlike now.

Jaina's face turned red with the force of her contained laughter, which she couldn't hold back any longer. She let it all out in a loud flood that proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was indeed very much awake. Her laughter was even louder than Ashimi's.

Jolteon explained herself to Zero, who, between laughs, informed Jonathan. "Jolteon says that she saw Jaina flinch when the lightning passed close to her, so she wanted to let you know she was awake, but also wanted you to understand her without help, like you understand Foxtrot."

"Well you could have found a different way to tell me!" Jonathan protested. "These things take time, I'll learn to understand you eventually, but please don't pull my pants down every time you want to get my attention!" Laughter coming from the tall grass made the group turned their heads in that direction. Seeing that she had been discovered, Daala stepped into the clearing. Jonathan grimaced when he saw her, "you didn't..."

Still giggling, Daala admitted, yes I did, I saw everything," she confessed. She had arrived around the time Jonathan apologized to Vaporeon and Jolteon, which intrigued her, as it was not the kind of behavior she expected from a heartless Rocket. She watched quietly from that point on, until she was unable to contain her amusement and her laughter gave away her position.

"No..." Jonathan frowned in embarrassment. His friends, his sister and even the enemy had been a witness to that? This was not his day.

"Oh yes," Daala gave him a mocking grin, "black with little red Rs, I didn't even know they made Team Rocket boxers."

Jonathan's face turned bright red. "My choice of underwear is nobody's business but my own! Now can we please get back to the battle?"

"Fine, but I'm not deleting the picture I took," Daala declared with a mischievous grin.

Jonathan gasped, his eyes going wide in horror, "you took a picture? That's not fair!" Just when he thought his day couldn't be any more mortifying. Vaporeon and Jolteon whimpered in apology, they didn't mean to cause this much trouble. Jonathan glared, "you better be sorry. Let's just get this battle over with, I got run over by a bunch of Tauros, my privacy has been totally invaded and I'm not in a good mood right now. Jolteon, electrocute that Rapidash until she lights up like a lightbulb!"

Jolteon started to build up her electricity for a massive attack. Jaina quickly scrambled to get out of the way and Daala began to pronounce the first syllable of her counter measure for Rapidash. All of that took place in the same split second that a Magikarp jumped out of nowhere and lashed onto Rapidash's muzzle. Time felt as if it stood still as the group witnessed the unexpected act.

"Magikarp!" Ashimi cheered at having found the pokemon she meant to capture.

"That's the kamikaze Magikarp you were looking for?" Jonathan couldn't help it but to agree with the description.

Jolteon had held back her attack in light of the unexpected situation and she was surrounded by sparks of accumulated energy. Daala felt into a pause of silent shock and Rapidash all around freaked out. The unicorn started kicking around wildly and shooting fire in every direction. Daala rushed to her side to try to aid her, but it was useless. Before the Tornado agent could pull Magikarp off, she was tossed aside by a painful kick to the stomach from her own pokemon. Daala fell on the ground, out of breath, clutching her abdomen, while Rapidash ran off wildly, leaving a trail of flames in her path. "Rapidash, no! There's too much fire, it's getting out of control!" Daala got to her feet with a heavy breath and ran after her crazed pokemon.

"This is insane!" Jaina threw her arms in the air, their plans went up in smoke and the same could be said about the Safari Zone if the fire wasn't stopped. Clearly, Daala had decided to make that her priority now, since Tornado was supposed to be an enemy of Team Rocket, not of Kanto. She usually didn't mind a little collateral damage, but a major fire that destroyed the entire Safari Zone and all the pokemon that lived in it was too much. Jaina decided to support Daala's new priority and ran off after her.

"I'll have to agree on that," Jonathan voiced. "You sure have a talent for attracting odd pokemon, Ashy. Vaporeon, sorry to make you work so hard in one day, but give it your all to put the fire out! Foxtrot, Jolteon, help out with sand attack!"

"Not fair! Daala is stealing my Magikarp! I saw him first!" Ashimi loudly complained. "Squirtle, I choose you! Put the fire out!" Squirtle shyly stepped forward, his nerves once again threatening to get the best of him. "It's okay, I'm right here by your side, I'll protect you," Ashimi assured. "Water gun, full force!" Squirtle nodded and began his assault on the flames.

Nidoran was uneasy, he had friends in the Safari Zone and it had been his home since he hatched. "It's okay, Nidoran, we'll put the fire out," Zero assured. "You can help too, just kick dirt into the flames." Nidoran was about to point out that he didn't know sand attack, but Zero already realized it and encouraged him anyway. "Just do what the others are doing." Nidoran jumped forward and joined the efforts.

"That's right, we need all the help we can get," Ashimi released all her Pokemon from their pokeballs. "Do your best to help put the fire out, everyone!"

Together they continued to advance against the fire, until they reached a group of trees that were being consumed by the flames. The fire had climbed up to the branches, causing sparks and flaming pieces of wood and foliage to rain down on the area below. A scream pierced the air as they spotted Jaina trapped in the middle of the inferno. Her talking Gastly was doing her best to keep her trainer safe, but there really wasn't much that she could do.

"Jaina!" Jonathan called out to her, his voice full of concern.

"Johnny!" Jaina spotted him beyond the barrier of flames, but there was no way that she could get to him.

Jonathan desperately tried to find a way to get to Jaina, but the trees were so tall and lush, putting the fire out completely would take time. The wind was blowing the smoke away from Jonathan, Ashimi, Zero and the pokemon, but Jaina was coughing heavily, ready to pass out, and she was trapped. "Keep up the efforts, everyone!" Jonathan ran around the fire and began to climb a tree on the opposite side. It was on fire on the branches that stretched out to touch the neighboring trees, but the trunk was not on fire yet. He made it to a steady branch that was high enough to get over the curtain of flames. He heard Ashimi telling him to be careful, or questioning his reckless actions, he wasn't sure. Zero might have said something too, but he was too focused on the task at hand. His eyes stung, since he was in the path of the smoke now. 

On the ground below, he saw the panicked Gastly, circling Jaina, who was on her knees with her hands over her mouth and nose, eyes closed from the pain in her throat. Thankfully, he had his grappler hook on his belt, hanging between the pokeballs. He shot the hook towards a thick branch on the other side and swung, dodging the flames and grabbing Jaina by the waist. The grappler's cable retracted, pulling them towards the other branch, but the fire had reached the branch and it couldn't hold their combined weight. 

The branch cracked dangerously before breaking. "Squirtle, water gun!" Ashimi called out urgently, pointing at Johnny and Jaina, rather than the flames, which were too tall to be put out completely before they fell on them. Squirtle reacted just fast enough and the blast of water pushed Johnny far enough so that he and Jaina landed on the grass, instead of the fire. 

Another flaming branch fell, from right above where Nidoran was, "Nidoran, look out!" Zero dove forward, pushing the small pokemon out of the way. 

Ashimi was just starting to breathe easy, seeing that Jonathan and Jaina made it back safely, when she heard the commotion and turned to look in Zero's direction. "Zero!"

Zero was trapped under the flaming branch, he disintegrated into blocks of blue code and floated through the branch and the fire as if he was there but at the same time wasn't, like a ghost. The blocks of rapidly flickering code slowly took on the shape of blocky polygons that became more detailed, until Zero was back. He was no longer wearing his civilian clothes, instead clothed in black armor with red boots, armbands and the letter R. The glitch had short circuited his graphics driver and caused him to go back to his default appearance. Nidoran stare at him with wide eyes before bolting away as if he had witnessed something terrifying. "Nidoran! Come back, it's okay, it's just me..."

"Zero..." Ashimi felt a strong ripple of energy course through her. That was dangerous, Zero's energy, it nearly disappeared completely. She always had trouble sensing him, probably because he was virtual, but little by little she had started to see just the smallest spark of life in him, but just then, it was nearly extinguished. His aura flickered inside him like the tiny fragile flame of a candle that a strong wind threatened to put out. It wasn't unheard of for life to appear where there was initially no true life, there were several pokemon that were like that, and Zero was the same, Ashimi didn't doubt it.

Zero was only a lifeless program when he was made, but now his experiences had brought out a supernatural occurrence like the others that had taken place in their world before. Yet Zero was different from pokemon, the persona of a human was too complex, too filled with emotions and conflicting thoughts. That was simply how humans were, never purely black or white, always a constant storm of, not only shades of gray, but every other color. Thus it was harder for such a new life to become stable. 'Zero, I won't let your life fade, I won't let you become nothing but data again.' Ashimi walked over to the virtual boy, "are you alright?" She asked gently.

Zero was frowning, his small chibi-like features making him look heartbreakingly cute. "Pokemon don't like me, I can't be a real trainer."

"That's not true, you know some of my pokemon didn't warm up to me right away either. We'll find a pokemon that's just right for you, don't give up," Ashimi smiled, trying to encourage him.

Zero didn't look convinced, but he didn't want to worry Ashimi. "It's okay, no big deal, I'm alright." Ashimi could sense it wasn't true, but she was determined to make it true.

Finding herself in an area clear of the smoke, as the wind continued blowing it away, Jaina took in big gasping breaths until her burning lungs didn't feel so desperate. She looked at Johnny, who had gone through so much on that day. The impulse from the water gun had saved them, but it must have hurt to be hit with such pressure. "You... You saved me, you risked your life for me." Her words were filled with awe and disbelief.

"Of course," Jonathan smiled reassuringly. "I couldn't let anything happen to you. Are you going to be okay now?"

Jaina nodded slowly. "I'm not hurt, just a bit bruised and I have a sore throat from all the smoke, but I think I'll be fine." 

Her Gastly floated next to her protectively with sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't get you out of there myself."

"It's okay," Jaina assured. "It's not your fault."

"Your face is still red from all the heat," Jonathan observed. "You better go rest , I'll be there as soon as Ashimi, Zero and I are done putting the fire out." Ashimi would most likely head to the pokemon center after this and perhaps it was time to tell her about Jaina. "We can talk at the pokemon center and if you're up to it we could go out for ice-cream, maybe that will make your throat feel better."

A few tears escaped the corners of Jaina's eyes, "thank you..." She watched Jonathan return to the front lines beside Ashimi. "No one..." she whispered sadly under her breath while she put some distance between herself and the burnt area. "No one has ever done something like this for me." She fought to stop the rush of emotion that overtook her, yet she couldn't help it but to cry. "No one has ever cared for me..."

"That's not true," Gastly argued.

Jaina shook her head, "isn't the only reason why you follow me because he appointed you to? So that he may act through me and continue to live in non-existence? Some leader he is."

"Be careful," Gastly warned, narrowing her eyes.

"I don't fear him," Jaina scuffed.

"Be careful of the boy," Gastly repeated her warning. "The look in your eyes is not one of trickery. Would you prefer to live as his sister or as an agent of Tornado?"

Jaina clenched her fists in frustration. "I... I want neither!" Then she ran as fast as she could, with Gastly trailing behind her.

xoxox xox xoxox

When the fire was completely extinguished, Jonathan went to find Jaina, but she was nowhere to be seen. "She's gone..."

"I heard ice-cream being mentioned," Ashimi teased. "Were you asking her out? Man, this is too weird, it's starting to feel like one of those crazy harem anime. Dorme has a thing for you, Daala had no problems snapping a picture of you pantless-"

"Don't remind me," Jonathan grumbled in embarrassed frustration. 

"And now Jaina's all flustered and all like," Ashimi made a silly impression of an overly love-sick tone, "oh, my hero!" She joined her hands, placing them over her heart and batted her eyelashes.

Jonathan blushed, "It's not like that! Jaina's face was red because of the heat and she was a little emotional because... Because of an entirely different reason. She doesn't see me that way, it's impossible, and Daala was just being mean or looking for blackmail or something," he quickly excused.

"Dorme's going to freak out," Ashimi shook her head.

"Do you have to tell her?" Jonathan pleaded. 

"Nah, it's really none of her business who sees you in your underwear," Ashimi mused.

"That was an accident!" Jonathan insisted.

Ashimi laughed, "I know, I know, I'm just teasing you. But really, Jaina was giving you some interesting looks back there."

"I told you, there's an entirely different reason for that," Jonathan's face turned serious and Ashimi could sense the uneasiness in his aura.

Her complexion turned serious as well. "Jonathan." 

He instantly looked into her eyes, she never called him by his full name, to her he had always been Johnny, or 'oni' when she was a toddler. "Ashley," he spoke in return, her true name felt alien to him.

"Your aura..." Ashimi trailed into silence, unsure of what to ask. She swallowed her nervousness and treaded forward carefully. "I sense uneasiness and doubt..." She paused, taking a deep breath, then adopted a grave look of deep concern that was well beyond her years. "I also sense that you care for her... Could it be... Did you..." She took a big breath, as if she had just ran a marathon and asked, "are you in love with her?"

"What?!" Jonathan yelled, shocked. "Are you crazy? She's my sister!" 

Ashimi gasped and stared, "I thought that was just an act, are you saying it was actually true?" Zero, who was rather quiet and not in the mood to talk, had a similar shocked expression to Ashimi as he listened.

"Her hair, she's not just copying mom's hair, and her eyes, the fact that they're the same color as dad's is no coincidence. It's not a disguise, she's my twin, her death was a lie," Jonathan revealed.

Ashimi took a moment to regain her voice. "Your sister," a million questions floated through her head. "I guess I still need more practice in reading auras, I sensed affection but I didn't realize it was family love. But I don't get it, how could it be? I thought the real Jaina had passed away a long time ago. Where was she all these years and how do you know it's true?"

"I feel it, I can't explain it, I just do. Her story is complicated," Jonathan felt silent, but he could feel Ashimi and Zero's eyes burning into him, looking for answers. "I'll explain everything, let's just go to the pokemon center before we're blamed for what happened here. If I remember correctly, the Safari Zone management changed earlier this year, and if the overgrown grass taking over is any indication, they're not taking care of the place like they used to, but I doubt that they'll ignore the obvious signs that there was a fire here. Daala doesn't seem to be around, maybe she fled after things got out of control and hoped that we would get blamed for this." 

Ashimi and Jonathan recalled all their pokemon, save for Pichu, who took his usual spot on Ashimi's head. "I agree, we better get out of here. We can talk at the pokemon center," Ashimi paused, feeling unsure. "If you don't mind," she sensed this wasn't easy for Jonathan. Her skill at sensing aura was not yet fully developed, but she could tell that much at least. 

"I want to tell you," Jonathan insisted. "There was just a lot going on at the time when I found out and I couldn't tell you before, but you're my best friend and I trust you more than anyone."

Ashimi smiled, she would believe his words, aura or not, but it felt nice being able to sense the sincerity in them. "And I know I can totally trust you and count on- eep!" Her foot caught on something that was rather charred and she stumbled. 

Jonathan caught her and steadied her on her feet. "That's right, you can count on me," he gave her a cocky grin. Ashimi stuck out her tongue and playfully punched him on the arm. "Ow, easy, I'm still sore, I did get run over by some Tauros today."

"Really? Well at least you can say you have some pretty good endurance. I'll try some of my aura healing on you at the pokemon center, that should help at least a little. Now that I think about it, you do have a bit of a limp," Ashimi noted.

"I can feel my ankle swelling, but I don't think it's broken, I can take the walk back to the car. I guess I should thank Thor for his painful endurance training." The last part was spoken with heavy sarcasm. No matter how beneficial the training might be in the long run, Jonathan couldn't bring himself to muster any feelings of gratitude towards the harsh general.

Ashimi stepped back and looked at the charred thing on the ground. "What did I trip on anyway?" She poked it with the tip of her foot, she had an odd feeling about it, then she sensed it. "Hey, this thing is alive!" She poked it again until it wiggled. The thing opened its eyes and began to flop around, trying to shake off the ash and brown grass that clung to its burnt body. Then Ashimi finally recognized the creature. "It's Magikarp! A Magikarp that survives all that will definitely evolve into a strong Gyarados, I'm taking him with us!" With the decision made, Ashimi caught the Magikarp in a pokeball. The little guy really needed to be taken to a pokemon center anyway.

As they were nearing the exit of the Safari Zone, a small Nidoran approached. 'Wait for me!' He called out, in the language of pokemon.

"Nidoran? Why are you here?" Zero questioned. "Do you want to go with Ashimi too? She's a great trainer, I'm sure she'll make you strong."

Nidoran shook his head, 'I want to go with you, aniki. Can I?'

"With me? But I'm..." Zero thought he might as well come clean. "I'm not even human, I'm not a pokemon either, but..."

'It doesn't matter!' Nidoran interrupted. 'You're strong, and brave, and smart, and loyal, and, and, and that's all it takes to be a good trainer. I feel I can trust you, so can I come? Please, aniki?'

Zero smiled wide, and with a big grin replied, "nope, you can't come with me."

"What?" Nidoran, Ashimi and Jonathan chorused, though for Nidoran it sounded to the others as 'nido?'

Then Zero laughed, "I'm kidding! Of course you can tag along, but what's with that aniki stuff?" 

'You're a Rocket! A real tough yakuza, and you're my blood brother, so I call you aniki,' Nidoran cheered. 'Do you prefer boss? Cause I can call you boss, boss.'

Zero laughed and Ashimi wished she could understand both sides of the conversation. "I'm not the boss, Ashimi is the boss, or the future boss anyway. I guess aniki is alright." He held out the pokeball Ashimi had given him, "hop in." Nidoran ran over and willingly jumped into the red beam. Zero's face lit up with joy, "I caught a pokemon!" He cheered and realized, "and I made a new friend. Go Nidoran!" Now that he was officially captured, Zero let him out again. "You can go back in your pokeball when you get tired, but let's just walk for now."

Ashimi and Jonathan both congratulated him, and Ashimi hugged him. "You'll be the most adorable pokemon trainer ever! Look at you, you're a black and red tiny version of Megaman, that's so cute! I should get Nidoran some gijinka hats to match yours, although it can't really be called gijinka if a pokemon wears them, but who cares about the details, it's cute!" 

"I'm a real pokemon trainer now, not a virtual doll." Technically Zero didn't look old enough to have a pokemon, nor was he anywhere near old enough chronologically, but who cares? Rockets didn't play by the rules anyway. 

"But you're still as cute as a doll!" Ashimi ruffled his hair.

"Aren't you a lucky one, the princess gives you all the attention," Jonathan teased.

"You both better watch out from now on," Zero playfully held up Nidoran's pokeball. "I have a pokemon so I can challenge you to pokemon battles!"

Ashimi was all too eager for the idea. "We should totally have some pokemon battles later, but first let's go to the pokemon center, and we should get some food too, I'm starving!" The thought of food reminded her of something. "Wait a minute!" She shot an accusing glare at Jonathan, "didn't you have our picnic basket?" With all that had been going on, the picnic had been forgotten, until then.

"Um..." Jonathan nervously took a step back. "It kind of got flattened by a bunch of Tauros..." He kept backing away.

Ashimi's jaw dropped, "my pizza burgers... No!" She broke into a run as Jonathan dashed away and Zero followed. "Agent Johnny, how dare you fail such an important mission, the future boss is very angry at the loss of the precious cargo!"

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 21: Burning Passion (Part 1)

"So we're going to do nothing?" Ashimi argued in frustration. Jonathan had told her everything that Jaina had revealed to him about her past.

"Lower your voice, or Joy will come in to scold us," Jonathan quietly warned.

Ashimi let out an exasperated breath. They were at the Fuchsia City pokemon center at one of the guest rooms. Ashimi let herself fall into a sitting position on the bed. "It's odd," she spoke in a softer voice now. "It's really strange because I know about Team Rocket's past, or a portion of it. People getting jailed for Team Rocket's crimes even though their only crime was to oppose them, people getting executed. I know it in my head what that means, but I don't feel it, I don't comprehend it. It doesn't feel real, it's like the plot of a movie, like something that's so far away you can't tell if it's real or just a story. Something that doesn't really affect anyone, except it does. But grandpa said that as long as his work wasn't lost I could be any kind of queen I wanted. Was he just humoring me and expecting me to change as I grew up, or did he truly believe it could be done? Can Team Rocket turn the world into a prosperous kingdom?"

"It already has, few resist anymore, all that Team Rocket needs is a new face to go out in the open and withstand the time of adaptation. But not much will change, Team Rocket already controls everything," Jonathan assured. "That's also why I don't want to do anything, I trust in the future you want to make, so there's really no reason to rock the boat now, it'll be better that way. Let the past be the past. Giovanni knows that if someone is going to sweep Team Rocket's past under the rug it can't be him, but still, the fact remains that history is written by the victors. It's up to you to be the face of victory."

"I heard that was the plan with Ash," Zero added. "A champion becoming a king might have been well received, since the general public has a positive opinion of him, but now it falls to you."

"So I need to be a champion for everyone?" Ashimi wondered if she could do it, though she usually tried not to let the doubts in. "I don't have my father's power or his mysterious ability to attract legendaries. They flock to him like Jumpluff in the wind!"

"It's okay, you can do it," Jonathan insisted, we're all behind you in this.

"Yeah, you'll be a great queen one day!" Zero agreed.

"I guess I'll just have to do my best..." Ashimi concluded. "We should probably get some rest now. Tomorrow we leave for Cinnabar Island!"

xoxox xox xoxox

The next day, Ashimi, Jonathan and Zero found themselves at the Fushcia City port. Jonathan patted the indigo car and gave it a sad look as it was left in storage until their return to the main land. Walking through the port, they considered their transportation options. Ashimi had been on cruise ships before, but she was hoping for a faster form of transportation this time around.

"Like look at that, it's like the Rocket princess, I totally thought you would like come by here, you know?" The sounds of a man's voice and his footsteps on the dock made the group turn around to find Luke. He was Misty's relative, and therefore Ashimi's, as well as the one responsible for Misty's older sisters developing a favor for the world like, as he was often with then when they were little, though Misty had been too young to pick it up. He was a member of the original Rocket gang before it grew into the world-wide organization it was today. He had retired recently, though he was still in contact with Team Rocket and unofficially kept an eye on the business dealings happening between Fuchsia City and Cinnabar Island, under the pretence of traveling from his home at Cinnabar to visit the main land on his yacht. Being the original subject for the cloning project, he looked a lot like Comet, or rather, Comet looked like him. He had blue eyes and his hair had been the same color as Misty and Ashimi's in younger days. He still had the same big smile and cheerful personality he was known for.

"Uncle Luke!" Ashimi cheered as she rushed over to greet him with a hug. "We were on our way to Cinnabar Island, do you know of a fast way to get there?"

"Like totally, the best way to travel is like on a pokemon, you know?" Luke cheerfully replied.

"I caught a Magikarp recently, but I haven't evolved him yet," Ashimi pouted, she could really use a pokemon she could ride on right about now.

"That's like no problem, you can like ride on the Rocket Gyarados that like guard the trade route, you know?" Luke approached the edge of the pier and tossed in what looked like a yoyo. It was black with a red R on it, identifying it as having been made by Team Rocket. The device sunk like a rock, stretching the string it was attached to. The water lit up, it's blue hue becoming transparent and revealing the sea floor below in a great spectacle of an underwater flare. Gentle waves moved outward from the center of the light with vibrations that communicated a message like a submarine's sonar, the light becoming the beacon for the pokemon it summoned. The light flashed three times before fading, and the yoyo-like device was retracted.

Soon, three Gyarados emerged from the waters at the edge of the pier. "These kids were like hatched from Lilly and Comet's Gyarados at the Rock On breeding center like at Pewter City, you know?" The place had been under Team Rocket's influence for a few years now. One of the Rocket shops even sold t-shirts celebrating the 'alliance'. "Like taking them out to sea and like raising them was like my last mission before I like officially retired, there's like a lot of them out there, you know? They like patrol the trade routes like around Cinnabar Island, you know? I'm like technically like retired, but I like totally have fun taking care of them, so I like still do."

The Gyarados looked ferocious and starred in the horrific tales of sailors. Any suspicious activities near the shores of Kanto would mean the ship in question being cornered by the beasts, resistance would mean a sunken ship and becoming the Gyarados' dinner. The docks had become nearly deserted as people ran inland to get away from the sight of the terrible beasts. Yet to Luke they were as tame as goldfish, he always had a talent for pokemon training.

"You three like take totally good care of Ashimi, Johnny and Zero, okay?" It was funny seeing the massive Gyarados trio bend down to be petted and it made it hard to picture those same beasts devouring sailors that dared to get on Team Rocket's bad side. They were bigger than most Gyarados and more robust, some said it was because they were raised in the salty sea with Luke living on his yacht more often than on land during that time. Other rumors said the sea serpents were big and strong because of all the sailors they had eaten.

They were carnivorous alright, though Ashimi preferred to think they didn't have too much of an appetite for humans. "This is great! Now I can get to Cinnabar and win a badge!" Without giving it any more thought Ashimi jumped on the back of one of the Gyarados.

"This will be an awesome ride!" Jonathan hopped on a Gyarados as well.

"It'll be lots of fun! Make sure you don't fall off, Nido," Zero jumped on the third Gyarados.

Nidoran paused, then finally joined his trainer, 'gotta be brave, like aniki.'

"Thanks for the ride!" The three young pokemon trainers chorused before leaving.

"You're like welcome. Hey, Zero," Luke called and the virtual boy gave him a curious look.

Zero knew who Luke was, so it didn't surprise him that Luke would call him by his name. He was still closely linked to Team Rocket even if he only kept an eye on the Gyarados because he wanted to, as he didn't really have any official duties anymore. Yet there was something more, "yes?"

"Come by to like visit after Ashimi is like done like collecting badges and you like have some free time, okay?" Luke smiled.

Zero nodded with a big smile on his face, "I'll definitely come visit soon!" Then he was off, along with his friends, heading to Cinnabar Island.

xoxox xox xoxox

The next few days were spent at the Cinnabar Island beach, training, though Ashimi was the one doing most of the training. Zero was mostly playing with Nidoran, and Johnny managed to snatch a few pokemon to send to HQ. He even stole few valuables so as to not get out of practice. Currently the blue haired teen was resting at the beach, half buried under a sand castle that Zero and the pokemon built on top of him. Foxtrot was napping next to his trainer, though only his head was visible, as the other pokemon had already buried him. All of the pokemon were out of their pokeballs for the occasion. Ashimi returned to the shore and observed the structure of which Johnny was the base. Though she was very quiet and the sun had not woken Johnny so far, somehow Ashimi's shadow did. The shadow left his field of vision and returned with a handful of trinkets. "I need a break, can I put these on Zero's castle?"

"No way, those jewels and evolution stones are for the boss!" Johnny tried to get up and the realization that he couldn't made him wake up completely.

"Don't move!" Zero exclaimed, patting the main sand tower as if to steady it.

"Who said anyone could build a castle on me?" Jonathan pouted.

"C'mon, be a sport," Ashimi started to decorate the sand castle. "Why do you even play thief anyway? When I'm queen you'll have to be an honorable knight."

"All the more reason to run around getting into mischief before my position in the law shifts," Jonathan grinned. He squirmed a little more and both Ashimi and Zero reached over to steady him.

"How's the training going?" Zero casually asked.

"Alright, but as you can see," Ashimi glanced over to the pokemon, "Magikarp hasn't evolved yet. Having a Gyarados for the fire gym would come in handy, but I still need to head to Viridian City for my last badge after that. Plus the break I took for training during the whole aura incident set me back some time too. Maybe I should just head on over to the gym. I have been training all my pokemon, not just Magikarp, and it's been weeks."

xoxox xox xoxox

At the base of the largest Cinnabar Island volcano, in the very heart of the isle, Ashimi, Jonathan and Zero entered the gym. It held a long tunnel made of special glass that took many years to develop and resisted the heat of the lava. It was refrigerated to regulate the temperature and people boarded an elevator surrounded by lava to get to the arena in the center of the volcano. The elevator reached the surface and the occupants stepped out, crossing the bridge into the square floating in the center of the lava. The gym leader should know they were there as the tunnel detected when someone entered and was equipped with cameras. A thin platform attached to a helicopter mechanism emerged from a tunnel on the opposite side of the arena and Ashimi wondered if the gym leader would be battling long distance by teleconference.

An holographic image appeared on the platform, it was purposely dark and only the silhouette of a man could be seen. Through the darkness that gave him an air of mystery, his voice echoed from the speakers on the platform. "Young madam, I shall not grant you a battle until your business is settled." The image went blank for a few perplexing seconds, then showed another area of the volcano where a girl was messing with a control panel in an area labeled as being accessible to employees only. The control panel was fake, but she didn't seem to be aware of that. The projection changed again and showed a map, directing Ashimi to the girl's location.

"Daala!" Ashimi dashed across the arena, followed by Jonathan and Zero. Despite the mystery, Ashimi was pretty sure the man was Archer and Ariana's son. She also knew that he wouldn't cut her any slack, not that she wanted him to. They disappeared into the tunnel on the opposite side of the arena.

xoxox xox xoxox

The glass maze surrounded by lava opened some of its barriers and closed others, guiding the opponents to each other. They had closed the attraction to the general public and it became a battle field. Ashimi dashed forward as the spiraling barrier ahead opened up in the pipe like an antique camera shutter. The second she had crossed the barrier, it closed up again, leaving Jonathan and Zero on the other side. Ashimi stopped and looked back, then got the message, she could only think of one possible explanation, she had to prove herself. "Johnny, Zero, it's okay, follow the path he sets for you, we'll meet up later!"

Ashimi continued on her way until she reached the end of the tunnel. It opened up and the tunnel was filled with mist. The cold steam poured out from the tunnel, canceling out the heat from the large circular chamber outside. Wind began to blow until the mist was pushed into a tunnel around the end of the pipe. A glass-like bridge extended from the tunnel Ashimi was at to another at the other side. The place was still under construction and not entirely safe, but safe enough to support the lava around them. She stepped into the bridge and looked to the other side, but her opponent was not Daala, instead she found herself facing Jaina.

Jaina didn't speak a word, she cut right to the chase and called out her pokemon. A red beam of light emerged from the pokeball and took the shape of a Dragonite.

"Dragonite?" Ashimi exclaimed. "Where did you get that pokemon?"

Jaina looked at the Dragonite with a bittersweet look in her eyes. Ashimi's tone made it obvious she thought it was stolen, but it actually wasn't. "He was given to me," Jaina breathe. Then she smiled as if a happy occasion approached beside a bitter one. "Ashimi, this will be our last battle, I owe it to Tornado to try one last time, but this isn't for the leader, it's for Daala."

'So they do have a leader after all...' Ashimi knew that even if she asked, Jaina wouldn't reveal any names, so she asked something else instead. "Wasn't Daala your enemy? Didn't she prove that in the Safari Zone?"

"Not at all, she's..." Jaina pause as if thinking of the proper word. "I think I can say that she's my friend. I stayed behind at the Safari Zone of my own free will, neither of us guessed I would become trapped. I'm leaving Tornado, but I want one last battle before I retire to a blissful life of high society hypocrisy. This is for Daala, because she was understanding when I explained the real reason why I was leaving. It's not about money at all, it's about..." Jaina's breath caught in her throat and she blushed. "It's about love."

Ashimi didn't quite understand what exactly was going on, but from what she could gather, apparently someone had offered Jaina a rich life in exchange for leaving Tornado. 'Did some high society guy fall in love with her and try to buy her off?' She theorized. 'Maybe she took his bribery at the start and later fell in love with him, is that it?' Something felt off, her instinct told her that her theory was wrong, but there was no time to think about it now. Jaina was starting to look impatient. "Chari, I choose you!"

'This is my last chance to accomplish my mission, I'm not even sure that it should be Team Rocket that I hate, but I don't care anymore, I'll fight with everything I have!' Jaina quickly went on the offensive. "Aqua tail!" Dragonite dashed across the thin glass bridge within the steamy wind tunnel and swung his massive tail at Chari. Chari jumped back to dodge the hit, but she knew she couldn't keep backing away forever. The Dragonite spun, swinging its tail again, but only a few drops of water from the liquid whip that stretched out from it reached the target. 

"Chari, use inferno, aim low!" The Charmeleon retaliated with her flaming attack. The fire reached across the glass bridge, heating its surface, but causing no damage to the structure, though it did get to Dragonite's feet. The dragon jumped and took to the air to avoid having his feet burned, beating his small wings strongly. Yet the wind tunnel didn't provide a lot of room for the massive creature, Dragonite's antennae touched the top of the wind tunnel first, getting caught on the cutting tornado of hot steam. Dragonite roared in pain and landed, his feet going into contact with the flames below. The large dragon stumbled back and fell sitting next to his new trainer, front paws holding his antennae while he blew cold air at his sore feet.

Jaina didn't like how the battle started. "Get up, Dragonite!" She shouted in frustration. "Thunder punch!" Dragonite got on his feet and rushed forward, electricity collecting in his claws.

"Chari, get down then use dragon claw!" The thunder punch flew above the Charmeleon's head as she ducked low. Then she jumped, stretching out her claws in an uppercut dragon claw attack across the Dragonite's chest and throat. 

"Outrage!" Dragonite roared in anger, he released a massive amount of fire that Chari couldn't dodge on time. His claws flew at her through the flames until the fire pokemon was tossed back, beaten and bruised. 

"Chari!" The Charmeleon had landed by Ashimi's feet. She rushed to her with concern, but the stubborn fire pokemon wasn't out of the fight yet. Chari got up once more and glared at her opponent. "you didn't train Dragonite yourself, there's no way you can beat us!" Ashimi challenged.

"Isn't this ironic? Isn't Team Rocket supposed to view pokemon as nothing more than tools?" Jaina mocked. "It doesn't matter if I didn't train him, this Dragonite is a lot stronger than any of your pokemon!"

"We'll see about that! Inferno!" Chari released another massive burst of flames.

Now Jaina was ready and reacted on time, "outrage!" Dragonite's flames pushed Chari's flames back. It looked like the fire pokemon was just about out of breath.

'No way!' Ashimi looked at the flame on her tail, it flickered and went lower due to the effort. This wasn't a bunch of small fireballs being tossed out at intervals, the constant roaring fire was draining her energy without giving her a split second to recover. The wind tunnel was disturbed by the flames, the fire forming a spiraling tornado around the glass bridge. Ashimi could feel herself sweat as her breaths became heavy, surely Jaina was feeling it too, but she obviously had no intentions of holding back. "Chari, aim high!" The Charmeleon obeyed, though her trainer knew she couldn't keep this up without pause for long. "Sorry, Chari, this might hurt a bit, but I can't think of any other way. Roll under the flames and use fire fang!" 

Chari ceased her flaming breath with a final burst. Dragonite's aim was high to counter her attack, but the fire was encompassing the whole space. Still, she avoided the worse of the flames as she rolled across the glass bridge, the high tech microscopic cooling circuitry inside it glowing in pulses of blue light. It made the structure look like magical ice that could not be melted. In a fluid motion, Chari jumped to her feet and attacked Dragonite, sinking her fangs into his neck. Of course, the dragon could not continue the attack any longer. Dragonite roared in pain, though the sound came out choked. He reached out to pull Chari off him as Ashimi urgently called out to her. "Flame burst and come back!" Chari released what little of her fire she had left and quickly retreated to Ashimi's side, narrowly avoiding Dragonite's claws sinking too deeply into her scales, though she was still scratched.

Blood seeped from the wound on Dragonite's neck as the creature roared. He lost his temper and began to beat his winds wildly in a hurricane attack. Jaina retreated into the tunnel behind her and tried to stay close to its wall desperately, to avoid being tossed off the thin bridge that connected the two glass pipes. "Dragonite, no!" The pokemon didn't stop, he relentlessly dashed forward in an outrage attack, while still simultaneously continuing the hurricane with his wings.

"Chari, hold on!" Chari tried to grip the glass bridge, but it was slippery. Her scales were covered in sweat from the extreme heat rolling through the fire, which was too much even for a fire pokemon, and she couldn't sink her claws into the special glass. Then the heavy steps of Dragonite dashing towards her resonated and she tried to get back on her feet to dodge, but that only made her lose her balance. "Chari!" With the glow of aura around her, Ashimi dove after her pokemon and grabbed her arm before she fell into the cutting steaming wind tunnel wall, beyond which was boiling lava. 

Ashimi felt her earrings become hot and vibrate as they tried to prevent the last drops of her aura from leaving her body and rendering it lifeless. She pushed the aura out anyway, she had no choice but to use it, because there was no way she could grip the edge of the glass bridge without it. Chari roared as if telling her trainer to drop her and somehow Ashimi knew what she was trying to say, but refused. "I'm not letting you go, there's no way I'll let you die." Pichu's electricity sparked as he prepared to defend his trainer and fellow pokemon against Dragonite. He was too small and couldn't possibly lift them up onto the bridge, but he could do his best to keep Dragonite occupied. "No, Pichu, we'll win this battle fairly, one on one," Ashimi insisted. "Chari, climb up my back and win this!" Chari was on Ashimi's back when Dragonite peeked down from the bridge above, savoring the helplessness of his pray. 

It was taking everything Ashimi had to support their combined weight and keep her grip with her aura, even if she could use both hands now. Yet there was no way she would be able to keep that up if Dragonite broke her hands or blasted them with fire or some other attack. She reacted fast in the only action that could bring her hope. "Rip off his antennae!" Chari hurried to jump off Ashimi and grabbed at Dragonite. The large dragon sunk his claws into her sides and tried to pull her away from his face, but she pulled herself forward, even if his claws left deep gashes along the sides of her body. She grabbed hold of one of his antennae in her mouth and held a flame in her bite, which caused Dragonite great pain. The large dragon trashed wildly until he finally managed to throw the bleeding Charmeleon off himself, though she still had one of his antennae in her mouth.

At the same time, Pichu was trying to pull Ashimi up to the bridge despite his small size. She only had her own weight to pull up, but she was simply too tired to lift herself up. Her aura was retreating into the far corners of her soul, exhausted beyond what she was ready to give. Several red beams went up from the pokeballs on her belt to the glass bridge and all her pokemon held on to her. They were mostly small, but together they pulled her up into their protective embrace. "Everyone, thank you..."Ashimi saw Dragonite freaking out over the loss of one of his antennae. Jaina stood on the opposite side, mouth agape, unable to react as Chari threw the bloody antennae at her feet with a huff. "Sorry about that, we don't normally battle this harshly, but you did try to kill us."

Dragonite growled and spat out a ball of fire that Chari dodged despite her injuries. She was hurt, yet somehow she felt invincible. With a mighty roar, Chari's tail flame flared up suddenly and her body glowed, growing larger. Where the Charmeleon once stood there was now a Charizard, her large tail flame burning proudly. She retaliated with a breath of fire of her own, filling the tunnel with flames. Burnt and beaten, Dragonite rushed forward for one last desperate attack. He tried to slash at Chari with his claws, but she caught both paws in hers. She ducked her head out of the way as the taller dragon tried to hit her with a thunderbolt point blank, then stretched her neck and attacked with fire fang. With one last growl of pain, Dragonite fainted. "You did it, Chari! You evolved and won!" Ashimi cheered as she and her pokemon gathered around Chari to congratulate her.

"No way... I lost... How could I lose with this pokemon?" Jaina sunk to her knees in defeated frustration. "Dragonite, return, you useless pokemon!" The crimson haired girl threw away the pokeball in anger. The red and white capsule collided with the windy tunnel and bounced, partially melted from the hot steam. 

"Dragonite, no!" Zubat reacted quickly and snatched the pokeball, dropping it as quickly as possible due to its temperature. The ball rolled a small distance on the bridge and stopped at Ashimi's feet. "Nice catch, Zubat, you didn't get burned too badly, did you?" Zubat shook his head, though he certainly wasn't in the mood to perch anywhere for a while. Squirtle walked over to the hot pokeball and gently emitted a stream of water from his mouth. It was too soft to be a water gun, but the liquid was effective in cooling the pokeball without pushing it across the bridge. "Thanks," Ashimi picked up the capsule and examined it. "I think it's stuck, but Dragonite should be alright if we get him out of this damaged pokeball. We should be able to do that at the pokemon center." She put the pokeball in her bag and glared at Jaina. "Chari, let's get out of here and let's take her with us. Everyone else, return!"

Chari hurried across the bridge and grabbed Jaina by the waist. She flailed around, but it was completely useless. Her captor growled at her and shook her like a snow globe. The action was enough to make the girl whimper in fear and offer no further resistance. Once Ashimi had recalled her other pokemon and Pichu was once again riding on her head, she approached Chari, whispered her plans of a get-away and waited for the tunnel's barriers to be opened. Then she jumped on Chari's back and the newly evolved pokemon took off full speed through the glass tunnels. She didn't slow down as a light became visible and didn't land immediately when they got out of the volcano. 

They landed some distance away from the volcano and Chari tossed Jaina on the ground. "Are you going to kill me?" She asked through her tears.

"No," Ashimi frowned. "I should hand you over to Team Rocket for interrogation," the possible fate seemed to frighten Jaina even more. She was so fearless before, but now it was different. Back in the Cerulean City bakery she had nothing to lose and now she had something, the life she claimed to be looking forward to with her mystery man. "I really should... but I won't," Ashimi's words took Jaina by surprise. "I will take your pokemon though. Dragonite would be dead if his pokeball melted any further, I just hope I'm right about being able to get him out of there."

"I doubt that thing will listen to you," Jaina grumbled.

"I'm not going to keep him myself, but that's not the point, hand over your pokeballs!" Ashimi demanded. She didn't see any on Jaina's belt, but she assumed she was hiding them somewhere.

"I don't have any, search me if you don't believe it," Jaina bitterly replied. "Gastly was never truly mine and I gave Exeggutor to Daala. I didn't think I would need him anymore, I thought Dragonite would be enough for my final mission. So, what do you intend to do?" She tried to hide her worry.

"I..." Ashimi let out a hopeless breath, in disbelief with herself at the words that came out of her own mouth. "I'm letting you go. I had to get you out of the volcano so that the Rocket executive in charge couldn't get to you. I'm letting you go for Johnny's sake, because you are his sister. Go, retire to a peaceful life and never cross my path again. If you do, I'll hand you over to Team Rocket without a second thought! And if you... if you ever decide to talk to Johnny, I won't stop you, but don't you dare cause him any trouble. Now go!"

Jaina got to her feet unsteadily, then dashed away with her heart beating wildly. She couldn't believe her luck, her life had flashed before her eyes. 'It looks like you saved me again, Johnny,' she thought, as she got further away from Ashimi. 'She must care about him if she defies her own family for his sake, too bad that he'll completely forget about her soon.' 

xoxox xox xoxox

After having left Ashimi to face her battle, Jonathan and Zero made their way through another series of tunnels. This was the will of the Rocket executive in charge of Cinnabar Island, thus they were following orders from a superior, but it also had to be a test, because otherwise he would have sent some grunts to tend to the intruders instead. Jonathan found himself exiting the volcano and going into a hot springs area which had been closed to the public as soon as the intruders were detected. Daala was there, but she didn't seem to have intentions of going into the volcano. She looked more as if she was waiting, as if she had nothing to do but felt uneasy about leaving. "Daala!" Jonathan exclaimed, if she was there, who was with Ashimi? 'Could it be that Ashimi is battling Jaina? No, impossible, Jaina left Tornado, she must be battling someone else.'

"Looks like you found me," Daala glared. "Well, I might as well put up a fight even if it wasn't in my plans, "go Rapidash!" The flaming unicorn emerged from the red beam of her pokeball. 

Jonathan reached for one of the pokeballs on his belt, but Zero stopped him. "Let me take this battle," he requested. 

Jonathan nodded and decided to let him, it was clear that Zero was really eager to have his first real battle. He had trained with him and Ashimi, but this was different, it was a real fight, not just practice. "Alright, give it all you got!"

"You bet I will! Let's win this, Nidoran!" Zero was filled with determination. 

Nidoran jumped forward eagerly, 'I'm ready for battle, aniki, just tell me what to do and I'll fight like a Rocket!'

'Rapidash is stronger than Nidoran, so we'll have to weaken her first,' Zero thought. 'From what we saw at the Safari Zone, she can be a bit clumsy.'

"Rapidash, flame charge!" Daala commanded.

'Aniki?' Nidoran asked nervously.

"Stay still... still... side-step!" Rapidash's horn passed inches away from Nidoran, who paled at the close call.

The flaming unicorn came to a sudden halt as she realized she missed entirely. She had closed her eyes at the last second as she prepared to impale Nidoran with her horn, her body covered in flames. She didn't expect him to simply side-step out of the way. "I have to teach her to change course at the last second," Daala grumbled. "Don't just stand there Rapidash, use a fire blast!"

"Too late! Poison jab and retreat!" Before Rapidash could fully aim her fire, Nidoran dashed between her hooves and stabbed his horn into her hind leg. The flaming pokemon kicked as an immediate reaction. Nidoran had already started to retreat, but was caught by the hit, albeit it certainly wasn't enough to knock him out of the battle.

"Rapidash, flame thrower!" Daala urged, she couldn't believe that kid was actually putting up a fight.

"Dig!" Zero flailed cutely in a way that would probably make Ashimi giggle. Nidoran scrambled to get underground, though his tail was still burned by the fire. "Keep going Nidoran, don't stop!" Zero knew that Nidoran was a speedy digger, they had been training after all. 

"Flood that hole with flames!" Daala ordered, the aggression in her tone rising as her patience diminished. 

"Come up, Nido!" Zero warned.

"Cook that Nidoran!" Daala insisted. Rapidash continued to shoot flames into the hole Nidoran had dug until she had to pause to catch her breath. The unicorn tentatively looked into the hole but saw nothing. She tossed in some more flames for good measure and bent over to stick her head in like a shy Doduo. She rose to her hooves again and shook her head at her trainer. "Did you actually cook him? Is he... dead?" Daala slowly inquired, she didn't think the attack would truthfully go that far. Rapidash ran her hoof along the edge of the hole in the ground, unsure, then laid down. The effects of the poison were starting to make Rapidash feel lightheaded. The fire pokemon didn't know if she should feel accomplished, embarrassed or just sad. Daala looked at Jonathan and Zero uneasily, "why isn't anyone saying anything?"

Jonathan shrugged, "I didn't want to interrupt."

"What about you?" Daala pointed at Zero with an accusatory glare. "That's your pokemon down there, aren't you concerned? How could someone so young be so heartless already? It's like you're not even human!"

Suddenly, Nidoran emerged from the bushes behind Daala. 'Don't insult aniki!' 

The war cry was only understood as words by Zero, who tried to stop Nidoran, "Nido, no! You're supposed to be fighting Rapidash, not Daala!" Daala yelped as the Nidoran bit her leg. She managed to kick him off and he landed near Rapidash. Despite her dizziness, Rapidash got up, ready to fight. Nidoran had tunneled and emerged near the bushes behind Daala where he took a short nap and rested, unseen by his opponent. He had recovered from the burns and hits and was full of energy. "Thunder!"

"Overheat!" Nidoran released the attack he had learned when Zero trained with Ashimi at the same time as Rapidash used overheat. The flames covered the entire area around the two pokemon until the unicorn stumbled back. The flash of light from Nidoran's electricity had crashed into her horn like a lightning rod. The unicorn fell to the side, fainted.

Nidoran swayed dizzily, and coughed out some smoke. 'How was that, aniki? Am I a tough yakuza like you?'

"You did really great, Nido, and we won our first real battle!" Zero cheered. "C'mon, you better rest in your pokeball for a while."

'Okay,' Nidoran plopped on the ground, burnt and exhausted, 'I could... use a nap...'

"Return!" With the Nidoran recalled, that marked the end of the first round.

"This isn't over, Rapidash, return, go Exeggutor and Venusaur!" Daala called out the pokemon she had gotten from Jaina.

Jonathan's eyes went wide. "That pokemon..."

"You've heard about him, haven't you? Yes, this is the same Exeggutor that battled alongside Jaina when she was pretending to be Kirameki. Even if things didn't quite work out that time, I think these two make a pretty good team." Daala grinned confidently, she liked it when people looked shocked.

Jonathan clenched his fists in anger. Zero stared, he had not seen this side of him before. "Why do you have Jaina's pokemon?" Jonathan growled. 

"Why do you think?" Daala challenged.

Jonathan gave her his deadliest glare. "Answer me!"

"You're in no position to make any demands," Daala disregarded his threats.

A million theories ran across Jonathan's mind, was Jaina dead? Had Daala truly killed her because she left Tornado? "You'll pay for this! Foxtrot, Vaporeon, Jolteon go all out! Foxtrot, burn Venusaur to ashes, quick attack and flare blitz, Jolteon, Vaporeon, tare Exeggutor apart, start with wild charge and giga impact, pretend he's a piñata!"

"Razor leaf! Seed bomb!" Daala called out desperately. 

Foxtrot began to shot a massive amount of fire. Venusaur defended herself with razor leaf but the leaves just burned to nothing before they could reach Foxtrot. The speedy Flareon got ever closer to the large grass pokemon, with some sparks already landing on her leaves. Jolteon dashed towards her target with wild charge. She took most of the hits from the bullet seeds herself, but they were not very effective because the electricity that surrounded her body repelled them for the most part. The electric eeveelution crashed into Exeggutor, followed by her brother. The palmtree pokemon was knocked to the ground where the two eeveelutions continued to assault him, tearing off his leaves and kicking all his faces. 

Foxtrot reached Venusaur, whose flower was now in flames. "Solar beam, Venusaur! Solar beam!" Daala urged her pokemon to fight back, but the relentless attack had come too fast. Suddenly, the area was filled with smoke. Daala took an unsure step back and before she knew it, she felt a rope wrapping around her body. With a click, the two magnetic ends of the rope found each other after wrapping themselves around the target and became locked. Daala struggled against the rope, but couldn't free herself. The smoke was too thick and she couldn't see the battle, save for the light of the growing flames. 

"Tell me..." Daala tensed, the voice was coming from right next to her ear. "Tell me what you did to Jaina. Do not think of lying, I'm sure the interrogators at headquarters can get the truth out of you."

Daala swallowed and clenched her teeth. "What? Don't you have the guts to get the truth out of me yourself?" She knew she was in no position to make demands and the pained cries of her pokemon were a constant reminder of that, but she was too prideful to back down. 

"That would be a mercy that I'm not willing to give you. As much as I hate you right now, I know that there are people who could think of worse things to do to you than me," Jonathan threatened.

Daala laughed bitterly, "you really love her, don't you?"

"She is my sister," for a second Jonathan noted the present tense and hoped that was not just a slip of the tongue and that Jaina was actually still alive.

"I wonder what she'll do about that," Daala mused with an ironic tone. "She worked so hard to get you to where you are, but... Alas, who am I to judge? If she's so desperate, I can't blame her for wanting what no one around her ever gave her. I wish I had known sooner, I wish I had been a better friend. But I know I can't stop her, if such filth is what she wants, no one can change her mind."

"What are you rambling about?" The smoke cleared out to revealed three tired eeveelutions and two fainted grass pokemon. Jonathan didn't even care that it was three on two. He didn't care that Exeggutor was Jaina's pokemon before, he didn't protect her, so he was just as bad as Daala. He was focusing only on the mission, recalling his training as a Rocket to get the job done by any means necessary. His goal now was not for Team Rocket, but it was for his family.

Daala grinned wickedly. "Go to her, go to your precious Jaina, she is waiting for you and when you find her, you'll meet a fate worse than death, by her own will."

"Liar! Jaina left Tornado, she wouldn't try to hurt me. I'm going to take her back into my family, I'll make up for what she missed out on!" Jonathan argued, though the anger and desperation in his voice lessened with the confirmation that Jaina was alive.

"You fool!" Daala chided. 

"Look, up there!" Zero pointed at the Charizard that flew across the skies above, coming from the volcano. Ashimi was riding on her and she carried a crimson haired girl. 

"Ashy! Jaina!" Jonathan quickly recalled his pokemon, "well done everyone, but we gotta go now," then he ran off in pursuit of the Charizard.

"Sorry to leave you all tied up, but we're in a hurry," Zero ran after Jonathan.

Daala glared after them, life had been too crazy lately. "Well, in Jaina's favor, I can at least say Johnny's got guts after all." She wiggled uncomfortably within the confines of the ropes until her hand reached one of the pokeballs on her belt. "Although," she mused aloud, "I guess there's no reason for me to call her Jaina anymore..." A red beam of light emerged from between the ropes and took on the form of Houndour. The pokemon didn't even need to be told what to do and immediately started biting the ropes that entrapped his trainer with tiny sparks of fire to help break them without harming her. She recalled her pokemon and decided to leave before some Rocket grunts decided to show up and try to take her prisoner.

xoxox xox xoxox

When she was far enough, Jaina stopped to catch her breath and tried to blend in with the tourists as she made her way to the port. She approached a luxury ship parked at one of the private docks and got on. She entered below deck and made her way to the main luxury cabin. There she found a woman with a glass cup full of wine in her delicate hands. "Is your business done?"

"Yes," Jaina replied.

"Good, I expect you to behave like a lady from now on if you are to become my daughter," the lady voiced.

"I understand," Jaina's responses were short and clipped, it was clear she wasn't too fond of that woman.

The refined lady stood from her chair and took a few steps towards the girl. "Do try to improve your posture, you're not standing properly." She set her wine aside and began to correct the girl where she stood. "Straighten your shoulders and raise your chin. Oh my goodness, your face is so dirty, go wash yourself. I will not tolerate this sort of thing from now on."

"Yes," Jaina growled between her teeth. She stopped in front of the adjacent bathroom's door and looked back at the lady. "Are you certain that they will bring him?"

"Hush, child, do not doubt their word. They are honorable people and they will deliver your fiancé as promised. Just because their son is a criminal," her refined tone gave way to a deep bitterness for just a second before she caught herself, "doesn't mean that the line cannot be repaired. Why, look at you, a peasant at best, and here I am willing to turn you into a lady. You're much better off with me than staying with your father. Let him die fighting against Team Rocket, I don't like them myself, but fighting them is a fool's dream. It is much more intelligent to try to form connections with them, not at the grunt level like your fiance's foolish father, but higher up, in high society." 

Jaina laughed bitterly, if only the lady knew that she had tried to kill Giovanni's granddaughter just moments prior. She sighed and said nothing to the eyebrow that was being raised at her. "I'll behave," she promised. The details didn't matter, nothing else mattered as long as she could be with her fiance... Assuming he could be successfully rescued.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 19: Magikarp's "kiss" with Ashimi is a reference to a similar scene in Slayers, involving Lina and a fish person.


	8. Chapter 8

Awakening

Chapter 22: Burning Passion (Part 2)

When Jonathan and Zero caught up to Ashimi, Jaina was already gone. They exchanged stories about what happened but decided not to go after her. Jonathan thought that if Jaina really wanted anything to do with him, she would find him herself. If it was a peaceful life of high society she had her eyes on, he wouldn't stand in her way.

"You must be really stressed," Ashimi observed as they walked to the pokemon center.

"I'm okay," Jonathan replied. "I mean, it's stressful, yes, but Jaina is alright, so that's a relief."

"No, I mean, it's like my abilities with aura have improved lately and I sense something is off." Ashimi paused in thought, checking her senses once more. Maybe she imagined it because she was tired. She tried to focus on the unusual flow of Jonathan's energy that she wasn't skilled enough to notice earlier, then she felt the world spin and stumbled.

"Ashy?" Jonathan and Zero reached out to steady her from either side.

"I'm alright, just really tired. I had to use the aura a lot," Ashimi explained. "Let's just go to the pokemon center for now, all of us could use some rest. I'm sure I'll be all better tomorrow and so will the pokemon. I also need to get this Dragonite some help, his energy is disturbing, like he's been mistreated his whole life. I think he's been through enough, I'll send him to uncle Gary, he'll be happy living at Pallet Town."

xoxox xox xoxox

When the next day came, Ashimi, Jonathan and Zero headed to the gym again, yet they found nothing but a recorded message waiting for them on the same helicopter hologram from before. "I expected to battle you yesterday, since you didn't show up, I left on my usual training trip, I'll be back next month. If you insist on finding me, I left you a map, but this invitation is for you alone, young madam."

"I think he's getting back at me for letting Jaina escape," Ashimi frowned. "Well I'm not waiting a month! I'm pretty sure he knows I'll be using that map, or else he wouldn't have bothered to leave it." She took a picture of the display with her phone. "I'll meet you guys later and I'll be back with a new badge!"

"The gym leader can be pretty ruthless in battle, be careful Ashy," Jonathan cautioned. Other than being the Cinnabar Island gym leader, he was the top ranked Rocket executive, thus when people spoke of 'the' Rocket executive, they mean him. Voicing his name was not something to be done lightly, least he take it as a challenge. While he put up a front and handed out a few badges now and then at the gym, when it came to other Rockets he battled all out as if to make his rank clear to them.

"Do you want information about his pokemon from the Rocket database?" Zero offered.

"Nah, it's okay, I'll improvise, I've been training a lot lately after all. Honestly, I can't wait another second!" Ashimi released Chari from her pokeball. The Charizard was truly a majestic sight to behold. "According to the map, the gym leader went to a small Rocket owned island south of Cinnabar. Let's go!" Ashimi jumped on her Charizard's back and with a flap of her powerful wings, the fire pokemon took to the sky.

xoxox xox xoxox

After flying full speed for some time, Chari reached an island covered in hot springs with a small volcano in the middle. The volcano didn't look like it would erupt any time soon, but its presence was enough to keep all the bodies of water on the small island hot. Chari flew around until they spotted the executive down below. She landed next to him and her trainer got off, "thanks for the ride, Chari, return." After recalling her pokemon, Ashimi stepped forward to face her opponent, his hair was the same color as Ariana's and he held the same plotting look of Archer's eyes. "I'm here," Ashimi stated the obvious, hoping that he would quit looking at the distance and stop ignoring her.

The executive slowly turned his head towards her. "Is the future leader of Team Rocket so weak that she must take the rest of the day off after a single battle?" Ashimi was surprised that's what bothered him and that he didn't mention Jaina's escape. He didn't wait for her to reply. "I returned to Team Rocket for this?" He began to walk away. "The boy has been training, I'll let you battle him first, then you can battle me." With a red beam of light he released a Salamence and got on his back, then flew off to the top of the small volcano.

"Oh well, at least I get an extra battle, that might actually be good practice, but where's my opponent?" Ashimi looked around but didn't see anyone, so she tried sensing and felt the presence of someone in the hot spring near by.

A head full of light green hair emerged from under the water and the boy removed his breathing mask and took a deep breath of normal air. He never did get used to those things. "Is it time for the battle yet?" He looked around, realizing that the executive was nowhere to be found. Then he spotted the red-orange haired girl looking at him with questioning eyes. "Princess!" He jumped out of the hot spring, embarrassed that his skin was so red from being in the hot water so long, and ran off behind a bush to change from his swimwear into his Rocket uniform. Then he jumped out, fully clothed, standing at the other side of the hot spring and released a pokemon from its pokeball. "Tentacruel, go! I shall give you a good battle, lady Ashimi!"

"Firion? You're my opponent?" Ashimi stared in disbelief. 'He was supposed to be training and his pokemon evolved. I better not underestimate him.' "Pichu, I choose you!"

"That's right, my lady, I am your opponent, but my name's not Firion," the boy replied. "Never mind that, let's just focus on the battle for now. Let's see if all my training paid off! Tentacruel, use hydro pump!"

"Pichu, dive!" Pichu reacted quickly and dove into the hot spring between the trainers, dodging the incoming attack.

"Water is Tentacruel's element, jump in after him and use poison jab!" Tentacruel jumped into the hot spring too, hurrying after the little yellow pokemon.

"Thunder!" Ashimi cheered. Pichu filled the hot spring with electricity that went out from him in ripples.

"Get out of there, Tentacruel!" The water pokemon managed to crawl out of the hot spring, but he was looking dizzy and burnt from the big electric shock. "How did Pichu not shock himself?" The green haired boy asked in disbelief.

"Lots of practice in controlling his electricity. We've been training hard at the beach. I even got Chari a tail flame protective bubble so she could swim with it. I guess it must have really toughen her up, since she evolved," Ashimi revealed.

The boy felt himself twitch in frustration. Was he destined to always be a step behind? He managed to get some pointers from a Rocket executive, but not even that was enough to prove himself. "Water training for a fire type... Gotta hand it to you madam, no one's as tough as the Rocket princess!" He looked at Tentacruel with hopeful eyes. "Think you can still fight?" The pokemon nodded and turned around to face Pichu, who seemed to be amused, splashing around in the hot spring. "Tentacruel, use-"

"Get out of there, Pichu, wild charge!" Ashimi interrupted. Pichu swam as fast as he could and crashed into Tentacruel, who was taken by surprise by how fast the yellow rodent came at him.

The boy's mismatching colored eyes went wide, "are electric pokemon even supposed to be able to swim that fast?"

"Anyone will swim fast if it's to avoid being in a hot spring full of acid," Ashimi pointed out.

Her opponent stared in disbelief, "how did you know that I was going to tell Tentacruel to use acid? Are you a psychic or something?"

"Not at all, but if Pichu turned the hot spring into a death trap, it's only logical that you would try to turn things around by taking away that advantage," Ashimi theorized.

"And here I thought I actually came up with a clever strategy," the boy grimaced. "What good is it to think of a good move if it's that easy to guess? Tentacruel, be careful and... Tentacruel? Oh oh..."

Seeing as the water pokemon was paralyzed, Ashimi decided it was time to end the match. "Finish him! Thunderbolt!" Without further ado, Tentacruel fainted. "Well done, Pichu!" Ashimi cheered.

"There goes round one," the boy recalled Tentacruel into his pokeball. "Maybe I can still win this, I managed to get my hands on a pretty good pokemon. Go Milotic!"

"Get ready Pichu, let's win this round too, use- huh?" Ashimi paused and looked at the bushes behind the boy.

"Milotic, counter attack with... with... Not to complain, my lady, but how am I supposed to think of an effective counter attack if you don't finish your sentences?"

"Get down!" Ashimi suddenly exclaimed. Her voice was so urgent and commanding that the boy dropped to the ground immediately. A barrage of razor leaves flew over his head to be disintegrated by Pichu's electricity before they could reach Ashimi on the other side of the hot spring. A pair of vine whips suddenly emerged and wrapped around Milotic, pulling her behind the bushes from where a toxic scent came. Ashimi ran around the hot spring and jumped over the bushes on the other side. In a shaded area behind the hot spring, she found Milotic being held captive by Venusaur. "I heard about yesterday, looks like your Venusaur recovered."

Pichu emerged from the bushes to stand next to Ashimi, along with the boy whose name no one could remember. "I see you have a different lackey with you today," Daala replied in her usual mocking tone.

"Let my Milotic go!" The green haired boy complained. He saw that his pokemon had already been poisoned and her face was turning a sickly shade of purple.

"Make me," Daala challenged. 

"Enemy of Team Rocket, you will regret this!" The boy tried to look brave for his future boss. "Milotic, use hydro pump!" 

"Venusaur, venoshock!" Milotic found herself unable to retaliate as she was trapped in Venusaur's vine whips that were choking her. The attack hit Milotic extra hard because of the poison already affecting her.

"That's not fair!" The green haired teen complained.

"Pichu..." Ashimi paused, if she had Pichu attack Venusaur, then Milotic would be caught in the attack and she had already been weakened. Without warning, a red light emerged from one of the pokeballs on her belt and Magikarp materialized in front of her.

Daala stared at the fish that flopped around helplessly. She blinked in surprise as her features began to form a smile until she burst out in a fit of laughter. "That's your counter attack?"

"Don't make fun of the princess' pokemon!" The boy complained. 'I have one more pokemon I can use, I haven't had this one for long, but I have been training her.' "Go Weedle!" Instead of the Weedle the boy expected to emerge from the pokeball, a Kakuna appeared. "Kakuna... She evolved? She evolved! Atta girl, well done!" 

"Um... Zidane..." Ashimi let out an annoyed breath while Daala laughed at their efforts. "It's great that your pokemon evolved and all, but it wasn't the best timing."

The boy, who was not called Zidane either, was hit by a harsh realization. His look of happiness, then confusion, finally settled into an expression of horror. "Kakuna can't battle..." 

"This is pathetic, go Houndoom!" Daala released another pokemon into the fight. It was the fact that Houndour had evolved while training on that very morning that filled her with the confidence to challenge Team Rocket again so soon after her recent defeat. "Boy, recall your sad excuse for a pokemon or I'll burn her to ashes!" She warned.

"No!" The teen yelped in alarm. He quickly called back his Kakuna, holding the pokeball protectively. "It's okay, Kakuna, I won't let them hurt you, and that goes for you too, Milotic, return!" The red beam of light surrounded Milotic, but she didn't disappear into her capsule. Venusaur's vine whips were holding on to her so tightly that she couldn't be recalled. "Milotic!" The sea serpent yelled in pain as her breathing slowed and the poison continued to assault her. "I'm coming, Milotic!" The boy dashed towards his pokemon recklessly.

"Get back, it's dangerous!" Ashimi tried to stop him, but it was too late. 

"Razor leaf!" A shower of sharp leaves assaulted the boy, covering him in painful cuts.

"Daala, stop this!" Ashimi tried to think of a way to attack Venusaur without further injuring Milotic. 

Impatient at the lack of instruction from his trainer, Magikarp flopped towards Venusaur and attempted to tackle her, but his movements felt short of the attack, as he didn't have the strength to boost himself forward. Instead the fish fell helplessly on the grass dinosaur's mouth and was chewed. "You're eating that thing raw?" Daala shook her head. "Honestly, Venusaur..."

"You can't turn my fish into a meal!" Ashimi panicked. "Pichu, quick attack!" 

"Razor leaf!" Daala countered. As Pichu rushed towards Venusaur, another rain of leaves assaulted him. The small yellow pokemon dodged out of the way, but instead found himself in the path of a fierce looking Houndoom. "Flame thrower!"

"Dig!" Ashimi shouted at the last second. Pichu buried himself out of the reach of the flames and began to tunnel away from his opponent.

"I'm not falling for that again! Venusaur, earthquake!" Daala commanded. "Houndoom, inferno!"

"Hurry out Pichu!" Pichu tunneled to the surface in a rush, he stumbled out dizzily from the earthquake and was met face to face with Houndoom, who wasted no time in attacking with massive flames. "Pichu!" The little yellow pokemon was tossed aside, unconscious. "Pichu... I can't believe this, he fainted, return!" Ashimi called back her loyal companion, "don't worry Pichu, I'll get you to the pokemon center soon." 

Suddenly, Venusaur let out a big roar of pain and started running widely. She waved the unfortunate Milotic around like a flag, refusing to loosen the grip of her vine whips. "Venusaur, what's wrong with you?" Daala watched the rampage in alarm. Venusaur cried out and opened her mouth, Magikarp, looking quite beaten, was biting her tongue. "I told you, you shouldn't try to eat food before its cooked! Stay still," Daala reached into her whimpering pokemon's mouth and pulled off the Magikarp, tossing the fish harshly aside, he fell between the bushes on the side of the battle field.

"Way to go Magikarp, you're a real fighter!" Ashimi cheered.

"But Milotic is still trapped," the green haired boy complained. "She can't battle like this, why won't you let her go?"

"I kind of wanted a Milotic for myself," Daala admitted. "I think I'll keep her."

"You will not turn my precious Milotic into an enemy of Team Rocket!" The boy went on the attack again.

"Houndoom, stop him!" Daala ordered.

Houndoom caught the Rocket by the leg and bit him hard. The boy yelped in pain and fell to the ground, but didn't stop trying to make his way towards his distressed pokemon. "Milo... Milotic..."

"Let him go!" Ashimi was clearly enraged. The last drop of her patience had been used up. Daala didn't look like she would cooperate. Far from it, she looked like she was ready to order Houndoom to use a fire attack, while still keeping his fangs on the Rocket agent's leg. "Chari, I choose you!" The ferocious Charizard made her appearance looking imposing and fierce. "That's your target!" Ashimi pointed right at Daala, whose eyes went wide in shock. "I will say this one more time, let Farron go."

"You're really not kidding... fine," Daala growled in frustration. She knew that there was no way she could overpower the Charizard. "Houndoom, release that idiot." The canine let the human go and rushed to stand beside his trainer. 

The boy, whose name was not Farron either, crawled forward, unable to support himself on his injured leg. "Stay still, you can't walk like that!" Ashimi called after him, but he didn't stop.

"Milotic is at her limit, she's not moving, please let her rest from all this, I beg of you!" He cringed and held his injury. A dark red stain was visible through the ripped black fabric of his Rocket uniform, seeping rapidly into his once white gloves. 

"You're a real Rocket, aren't you?" Daala growled. "Abusing power rather than battling."

"You're one to talk, hypocrite!" Ashimi spat in return. "You want a fair battle? Fine! Thank you Chari, you can return now," she recalled the Charizard. "Milotic is unable to battle, she has already been knocked out. Plus Sephiroth surrendered, so you can let his pokemon go now. I won't let you steal her!"

Daala paused as if considering something. "It all comes down to this, does it? What's the point of letting Milotic go if you'll just sick your Charizard on Venusaur again? When you find out about her plans, I'm sure you'll be quite angry since I intend to help despite disagreeing."

'What in the world is she talking about? Jaina was rambling strangely too.' Ashimi quietly thought.

"I guess I'm helping out of pity or a long forgotten sense of compassion that surfaced for my only human friend," Daala continued. "I'll have to face your wrath eventually, so it might as well be now! Venusaur, finish this with-ah!" Daala yelled as she felt a sharp pain on her leg. "You again?" She kicked off the stubborn Magikarp. "What does it take for that thing to stay down? Houndoom, fry that fish!"

Ashimi was about to take action, but stopped when a glow caught her attention coming from Milotic. Her body had gone limp and Venusaur lowered her guard, assuming that Milotic was unconscious, but she was actually sleeping, using her rest ability. The sea serpent took her captor by surprise and escaped from the grip of the vine whips. "Wait a minute, when you said let her rest, you were actually telling Milotic what to do," Ashimi realized.

"That's right," the green haired boy grinned, he was pale and dizzy from the loss of blood, but he was determined not to faint. "Real Rockets don't beg, unless it's to the boss, but never to the enemy! Milotic, iron tail!" Milotic stretched her body, her tail glowing silver. Milotic's tail smashed against Venusaur's head with great strength. 

Venusaur stumbled back and fell unconscious. Daala recalled the grass type while Houndoom took to the front lines. The canine focused on Milotic and disregarded Magikarp. Magikarp flopped back to life and bit Houndoom's tail. The canine howled and smashed his tail against the ground, ridding himself of the nuisance. It seemed that was all Magikarp could take, because he was no longer flopping around. "Oh no! Return!" Ashimi tried to recall him, but as she feared, Daala's pokemon refused to allow it. Houndoom stood in the way of the red beam from Magikarp's pokeball, blocking Ashimi's attempt to call him back. "Do I have to call Chari out here again?!"

Milotic screeched in a mix of anger and sadness and attacked Houndoom with aqua tail. The dark fire pokemon jumped back, avoiding the hit. Milotic wrapped herself around Magikarp, gently lifting him up. She knew what it was like to be weak and helpless and felt compassion for him. The Magikarp's eyes slowly opened and he wheezed in pain. He looked at the wondrous creature that held him with great gratitude and admiration. She was very strong, kind and beautiful, but clearly, she was also very tired from the long battle's efforts. 

"Houndoom, use crunch!" Daala refused to give up. Her loyal Houndoom dashed towards the water pokemon fearlessly, bearing his long sharp fangs. Magikarp jumped out of Milotic's embrace before she could react and with a bright glow surrounding his body, he became larger until he towered over Houndoom. The enormous Gyarados snatched Houndoom in his mouth, chewed him, then spat him out in a colossal hydro pump. Houndoom went flying through the air with the force of the hit and landed some distance away. "Houndoom!" Daala still had Donphan, Rapidash and Exeggutor, but it was clear she wasn't making any progress. "Go Rapidash!" She jumped on the pokemon's back. "Let's get out of here!" They galloped away to find Houndoom.

"Coward!" Ashimi shouted after her, tempted to give chase.

"Aren't you going after her?" The green haired boy asked. "She must have gone to find Houndoom. She probably has a boat or something hidden near by, so she shouldn't be too hard to find, especially if you get a bird's eye view with your Charizard."

"Yeah, but if I leave you to your own devices, you'll bleed to death," Ashimi examined the wound on his leg. "Don't move, I have a first aid kit in my bag," Ashimi dug around for it and began to work.

"Lady Ashimi, you mustn't! I got hurt because of my own incompetence. A princess shouldn't lower herself to do this," the boy complained.

"Shut up, Balthier," Ashimi applied a little more disinfectant than what was needed, making the boy, who was not called Balthier either, cringe from the sting. "What kind of a future leader would I be if I don't take care of my Rockets? You're weird and obsessive, but you mean well and you do take good care of your pokemon. If you try to get along with Johnny, we might just all be friends."

"Jonathan..." he growled between his teeth.

Ashimi tightened the bandage on his leg, making him cringe from the pain again. "He's my best friend, I don't see him ever not being a part of my life, so you'll have to learn to deal with him if you want to work for me."

The boy sighed hopelessly. "I guess I don't have a choice. Alright, I'll try."

"Good," Ashimi finished the improvised first aid. "This is just basic first aid, I want you to go to a real doctor, understand?" 

"Yes ma'am..." The teen sighed.

Ashimi looked at the two sea serpent pokemon that were cuddling each other. "Well, they seem to be fond of each other. Hey you two, make sure he's okay, got it?" The pair of water pokemon nodded in unison. "Gyarados..." Gyarados looked at his trainer, then back at Milotic. "Be a good boyfriend to Milotic." Gyarados gasped in surprise and nodded eagerly, he gently nuzzled Ashimi then went back to cuddling Milotic.

"Her boyfriend?" Milotic's trainer blinked in confusion. 

"Yeah, look at them, it's obvious they like each other." Ashimi handed over Gyarados pokeball. "I can't part those two, I'll feel bad if I break Gyarados heart after he's been enduring all the hard training I put him through."

"Then you should take Milotic," the green haired boy insisted. "She's a great pokemon, a perfect gift from a loyal Rocket agent to the Rocket princess!"

"No," Ashimi refused. "You need a strong pokemon like Milotic by your side, besides, you risked yourself for her and I'm sure she appreciates that. Make sure to continue training all your pokemon well." Ashimi began to walk away. "Gyarados, Milotic, take care of each other and make sure Edgar is alright." She ran off, disappearing into the foliage of the surrounding vegetation. 

"Thank you, princess!" The teen called after her, not really minding that his name wasn't Edgar either.

Ashimi ran as fast as her legs could carry her, until she reached the base of the small volcano. A bittersweet feeling invaded her senses. She had grown fond of that Magikarp during their time together and she had been looking forward to his evolution, but letting him go felt like the right thing to do. She now truly understood the stories her father had told her about when he released his pokemon. He would miss them, but he knew he was doing the right thing. Ashimi took a deep breath and called out Chari, "another battle awaits, to the top of the volcano!" 

xoxox xox xoxox

Chari carried her trainer up and they landed on the edge of the volcano's mouth. The formation was small, but had just enough space to comfortably battle in. However, there was no battle arena, instead several rocks protruded from the calm darkly colored lava. The lava wasn't as hot as the volcano at Cinnabar Island, but falling in would still be lethal. Were the pokemon expected to jump from one rock to another? Well, that wouldn't be necessary, because Ashimi knew what pokemon she would choose. Chari could stay in the air if needed, so the lack of places to land didn't really matter. 

The Rocket executive walked around the mouth of the volcano until he stood next to Ashimi. "Recall your pokemon," he ordered. Ashimi was about to say Chari would be battling, but decided to see what this was about and called her back into her pokeball. "Turn around and shuffle your pokeballs." Ashimi did so, a feeling of dread washing over her. "Now hold them out... The second from your right. Ashimi held up the pokeball, it wasn't Chari. "That will be your pokemon, here's mine... Arcanine!" A ferocious looking Arcanine jumped out of the red beam of his pokeball while the executive calmly walked around the volcano to the opposite side. The Arcanine landed gracefully on one of the stones protruding from the volcano. "You must win this with the pokemon in that pokeball randomly selected. All of your pokemon should be strong, or else there would be no point in taking them with you. You get one chance, no arguments."

Ashimi looked from Arcanine to the pokeball in her hands in distress. Well, at least Pichu wasn't chosen, that would be a problem since he fainted not long ago, and she had not been able to take him to the pokemon center yet. Ashimi took a deep breath, she had to trust in her pokemon if she wanted them to trust in her. They were listening to the conversation and she didn't want to make the chosen one doubt his confidence. She released the pokemon from his pokeball. Squirtle materialized in front of Ashimi, shaking in fear from head to tail. "Squirtle..." The little turtle worriedly looked up. "It's okay, you don't need to do this if you don't want to."

"Squirtle!" The little pokemon protested. He held up his tiny hands as if holding something small between his fingers. "Squirtle squirt squirtle!"

"Your safety is more important than a badge or the Indigo League. I'm not going to force you to battle." She patted him on the head gently. It's okay, if it's over, it's over. Maybe we can get some badges at Johto or something. It's not the end of the world."

"How disappointing," the Rocket executive huffed. "After I took time off from my personal training to battle you, you're just going to give up? Can't you get your pokemon to obey? You did get lucky with the type advantage, but your pokemon is still in the first stage of evolution. How weak. Are you not strong enough to make it evolve or is it too useless to get stronger?"

"Squirtle is my friend and I won't put his life in danger!" Ashimi argued. "He's strong, loyal and braver than he realizes, and he's more important than a stupid flame badge!"

"Squirtle!" Angered by how his trainer was being put down despite how nice and understanding she was, the small turtle stepped forward and daringly shot a water gun right at the Rocket executive's face. His Arcanine interfered with a breath of fire that intercepted the liquid and reduced it to steam. "Squirtle!" Unfazed, the tiny turtle dashed towards the edge of the volcano and jumped, but his short legs couldn't carry him the distance to the next stone. He retreated into his shell and propelled himself the rest of the way with a strong water gun, landing on one of the stones.

Ashimi let out the breath that had been uncomfortably caught in her throat. 'I've lost count of the times I've been close to having a heart attack today. Well, Squirtle wants to do this, so we might as well do our best... No, I can't think like that, we won't just do our best, we're going to win this!' "Go get 'em Squirtle, we're going to win! Water gun!" 

Arcanine jumped out of the way, gracefully going from one stone to the other with ease. The rocket executive didn't seem to care about the Squirtle's antics. He simply voiced, "overheat." The flames that the Arcanine spat out were so abundant that they covered the entire area in the center of the volcano. 

Seeing no way out, there was only one thing to do, "retreat into your shell, Squirtle!" a massive pillar of fire stood atop the volcano. Ashimi had to step back away from the sparks. She couldn't see what was happening because of the bright flames. After what felt like an eternity, the fire dissipated and revealed the area. Arcanine was standing proudly atop one of the rocks, howling as if he had already won. Squirtle peeked out from his shell and got on his feet a little shakily. He looked to Ashimi and nodded, as if to indicate he was ready for her next command.

"What's that? Your Squirtle's shell is melting? Is it fake or something?" The Rocket executive inquired with a mocking air.

"So what if it is?" Ashimi argued as fiercely as she could. She could think of no way to help Squirtle realistically win this and it was frustrating her. "It doesn't matter, Squirtle is still strong!"

"Oh yes, I'm sure," he gave her a mocking grin. "That's why you're panicking right now."

"I am not!" Ashimi growled. She paused took, a deep breath and tried to achieve clarity of mind. 'Okay, do this step by step. Taking down Arcanine with direct attacks is not going to work, type advantage aside, he's simply too strong. Arcanine can fill the whole area with fire and can dodge Squirtle's attacks easily. I guess I should start by evening out the field. Should I put ice on the stones to make them slippery? No, it'll just melt and the puddles will evaporate. Some rain would be nice, but Arcanine is not going to give Squirtle time for a rain dance, I need to buy some time.' Ashimi stared at the area's layout. "Squirtle, use water gun on the lava and be ready to switch targets!"

The executive laughed, "I've heard about your father modifying the battle arena to his advantage, but surely you don't mean to cool this entire volcano." Then he realized it, the arena was covered in a thick fog from the steam coming from the evaporating water. "Overheat!"

"Now!" Ashimi called out urgently. Squirtle switched his target to Arcanine, who got a mouthful of water gun when he tried to breathe fire. The fire pokemon coughed uncomfortably and was delayed for a moment. "Get the lava!" Again Squirtle switched targets and covered the arena in steam. 

'Trying to make Arcanine exhaust his energy, are you? It won't work, maybe I should turn the strategy against her. Arcanine can't dodge what he can't see, but Squirtle can't see either. If Arcanine keeps shooting fireballs, Squirtle will have to keep up the steam to hide since I doubt he's fast enough to dodge, and this way there's less of a chance of Arcanine choking on any more water if he only opens his mouth on intervals.' The gym leader went on the attack again. "Arcanine, flame thrower, rapid succession."

"Squirtle, jump!" Ashimi called out, she closed her eyes and focused, forward, forward, forward, a little to the left, land! Water gun the lava again quick! Then when the steam is thick do a rain dance!" Ashimi instructed.

The gym leader tried to see through the steam. 'Did her Squirtle just jump blindly? But her directions sounded as if she saw everything. How could anyone see through this steam? Either way, I can't let her complete the rain dance. There's no time to locate Squirtle.' "Arcanine, use overheat, fill the entire arena with fire!" The fire took a little longer to spread because of the wet mist hanging in the air. The flames cut through the moisture like knives and spread across the surface of the volcano. It was logical that Squirtle would hide in his shell again, but the rain dance would have to be stopped. Shadows overtook the arena as clouds gathered in the skies above and rain began to pour. Arcanine's flames were put out and he could no longer fill the arena with fire. Plus the rain created more steam to hide Squirtle.

"Way to go, Squirtle! I know you'd be fast enough! We're turning this battle around!" Ashimi cheered.

The gym leader struggled to see through the steam but he couldn't. He knew he couldn't just wait, Arcanine was trapped under the rain and it would only get worse. "Interesting, it seems we are at a stand still. I assume Squirtle's jump range improved because of the same trick used before and you guided Squirtle to be propelled in the right direction seeing with the aura," he finally concluded.

"You know about that... I guess I shouldn't be surprised given who you are in Team Rocket," Ashimi admitted. "Is it considered cheating?"

"Not at all, it is only fair that you use what is at your disposal, young madam," his tone, as always, was sarcastic when he called her young madam.

"So... Aren't you going to attack?" Ashimi asked.

"Attacking blindly would be useless, plus Arcanine would have to put a lot of effort in terms of range, it's nearly impossible to perform a decent ranged fire attack in this weather. Squirtle could be continuing the rain dance as we speak in its hidden perch, so waiting it out isn't an option either. My only choice is to have Arcanine jump to a different area and hope to land on one of the pillars," the gym leader considered the option. "Jump, Arcanine!" No howls of pain were heard from within the mist. "Looks like he made it, of course Arcanine is quite familiar with this area, so even with the discomfort of the rain he should be able to calculate the jumps just fine."

"So it's a test of endurance, how long can Arcanine blindly jump under the rain without fainting? Hey Squirtle, looks like we got this one in the bag," Ashimi laughed.

"I doubt it, my Arcanine can endure a lot. Arcanine, search all the stones in the surface of the volcano, you'll have to find Squirtle eventually!" The executive decided.

Some time passed and all that could be heard were the soft thuds of Arcanine's paws on the stones protruding from the lava. Ashimi yawned, "it's taking a while, isn't it?"

"Keep searching, Arcanine. Squirtle can't move without her directions or else the risk of falling into the lava will be too great. Plus I haven't heard any suspicious sounds recently. Squirtle must be in the same place this whole time!" 

More time passed with nothing but the same sounds of Arcanine's movements. "Now this is what I call a challenge, patience isn't my forte," Ashimi yawned again.

Arcanine howled, he couldn't find Squirtle at all and he was soaked to the bone. "The rain hasn't stopped, that Squirtle must still be there, dancing. There's no way the pokemon also has the sight of aura, it must be in the same place." 'But how is that possible if Arcanine has been all over the arena? Wait, the same place, could it be?' The scent of the volcano was too strong for Arcanine to use his nose to track Squirtle. The sneaky little water pokemon could have been standing right next to him without being noticed. "Arcanine, go back to where you were before you started jumping!"

"Ah, so you figure it out," Ashimi giggled. "Yup, since you already know, I'll admit it, Squirtle did the rain dance between Arcanine's paws. He didn't need to worry about being burned because there was no fire directly under Arcanine's body."

The gym leader laughed, "forgive my near sightedness, young madam, I should have paid more attention to your initial directions and pinpointed Squirtle's location. I didn't expect him to be able to go that far when you kept telling him to go forward." Though the sarcasm was still evident in his voice, it sounded as if he was actually having fun. He had gone a long time without any kind of battle that could be called a challenge.

"Well I guess I won't be able to use that trick now. But that's alright, Squirtle, Arcanine is tired, let's finish this! Hydro Pump, give it everything you got!" As Arcanine jumped towards the rock where Squirtle stood, he was assaulted by the water pokemon's attack. Arcanine struggled to make it to his target landing spot, landing right next to Squirtle, taking on the full force of his attack until Squirtle had nothing more to give.

"Arcanine, fire fang, crush that Squirtle!" In a fast movement before the small turtle could dodge, Arcanine scooped him into its mouth and bit hard on his shell. 

Squirtle could feel his shell crack as his most frightening memories resurfaced and he froze. He remembered the pain of having his original shell broken, he was an inch from death when that pokemon researcher from Pallet found him and took him in. "Squirtle!" The voice came as a distant echo at first, then it became clearer as Squirtle went out of his scared trance. "Squirtle! Use skull bash!" Squirtle abandoned his shell at the last second, right before Arcanine crushed it, narrowly avoiding the same fate. The turtle bashed his head into the canine's with all his strength. Arcanine stumbled back dizzily. "Again Squirtle! Don't stop now, we're going to win this, go Squirtle!" 

His fear was gone and Squirtle felt his power returning to him, for once in his life he felt strong and confident. The gym leader was saying something and Arcanine was growling something else, but he only heard his trainer's voice full of confidence and love. His body was surrounded by a bright light as he repeated the skull bash attack once, then twice again. Arcanine finally had too much and collapsed. The clouds above began to clear, the rain stopped and the steam dissipated. There stood a victorious pokemon beside the defeated Arcanine, but it was not Squirtle, it was Wartortle. Ashimi had sensed the evolution, but other than silhouettes, her aura wasn't strong enough to see colors or details, so it was only when the steam cleared that she saw the color of his shell. 

"Wartortle!" The water pokemon looked at his trainer in surprise at being called differently, he didn't even notice the evolution until then. "We did it Wartortle, we won and look, you have a new shell, evolution restored it just like I knew it would!" The newly evolved pokemon smiled as he went into his cozy new shell and popped out again. It felt so much stronger and comfortable than the fake one. He jumped and pushed himself to jump to the edge of the volcano with his water gun, evolution had restored some of his energy and though he was tired, he wasn't ready to collapse anymore. He ran the rest of the way into Ashimi's arms. She hugged the water pokemon and ran her hands on his smooth shell, "that's a really nice shell you have there and it's green, you're handsome and rare." Wartortle grinned sheepishly, blushing at the compliment. Ashimi hadn't even realized just how rare her pokemon was before, since his fake shell was the same color of any normal Squirtle shell. But surely Gary and Laiki had known, they were pokemon experts after all. 

The gym leader and Rocket executive had recalled Arcanine and made his way to Ashimi's side of the volcano. "Perhaps there was a point in returning to Team Rocket after all. It does look like the organization might have a future, take this badge as proof of that."

Ashimi received the flame badge with a big smile. "My seventh badge! Thanks, and thank you for reminding me that no matter what, there is always away to win and that all pokemon are truly strong." In the beginning she had feared the situation was entirely hopeless, but the battle took a sharp turn and ended in victory.

The gym leader laughed, "I wasn't trying to teach you that at all, it's such a childish and optimistic sentiment, but I suppose I shouldn't try to shoot you down for it if you can actually back it."

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 23: Grudges of the Heart (Part 1)

Ashimi returned to Cinnabar Island and met up with Jonathan and Zero. It was a sunny afternoon and since she only had one more badge to win, she thought it would be okay to relax and wait for the evening ferry. As fun as it was to ride the Gyarados, it made her a bit nostalgic about her own Gyarados, plus she had heard the large ferry's snack bar had the most delicious icecream-filling cookies in Kanto. She was at the poolside at a hotel with her pokemon when the need for a cold drink hit. "Did you guys see where that employee with the drinks cart went, I could really use a soda, or juice, or something." 

"I'm not sure..." Zero looked around until he spotted the drinks cart on the opposite side of the pool, "over there."

"I'll go get the drinks," Jonathan got out of the pool and caught his breath, "I think I'm done giving Foxtrot swimming lessons." The Flareon looked to be alright, paddling around in the pool. Though his trainer had a bit of a rough time at first when the fire type panicked and kept jumping on him, making him sink. But Foxtrot just had to be tough and refuse to give up on swimming, after all, his younger siblings could do it. 

"I'll go! Let me!" A male voice suddenly called out, but just as suddenly, the owner of the voice went out of sight, only to return a minute later with a very large cup of juice. "Here you are, princess, all for you!"

"Hi, Kain, what are you doing running around already?" Ashimi eyed the bandage still wrapped around his leg. She took the big glass cup in both hands, it was like a fishbowl filled with juice, 'did they have to use the entire juice bottle in one serving?' She wasn't sure she could drink the whole thing.

"I'm not Kain, but never mind that, I'm not doing too badly. It was just a flesh wound, so I should be fully recovered soon," the green haired boy smiled big. "Anyway, I'm eternally grateful to you, my lady, so if you need anything at all, I'm here to serve!"

"Ah, well, the drink is enough, I don't need anything else at the moment," Ashimi laughed nervously, she didn't like being the subject of the boy's extravagant devotion, especially in public places where he was too loud about it and people stared.

"Very well, your highness, just say the word and I'll do whatever you ask!" With his duties fulfilled, it was now time to brag. He looked at Johnny purposefully and cleared his throat. "Did you know that the princess gave me a pokemon? Yes she did, and it's a really strong pokemon too. I bet she's never given you a pokemon."

Jonathan glared daggers. "I'm perfectly capable of catching my own pokemon," he growled, never mind that his pokemon were actually given to him, despite the fact that he had caught many for Team Rocket. "Besides, Ashimi only gave you her Gyarados because she felt sorry for you, and I'm not one to inspire pity." He sat at the end of the pool, looking away in annoyance.

"You're jealous! " The boy proudly declared.

"I am not!" Jonathan pouted and crossed his arms, kicking at the water on the edge of the pool. 

"C'mon guys... don fight... hick!" Ashimi, looking rather dizzy, tried to step between them and nearly fell into the pool. "Let's all be friends... friends! He he he!" 

"Ashy..." Jonathan honestly wasn't sure what was so funny. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, hick, peachy..." She let out a stream of giggles for no apparent reason.

"Golbez," Jonathan stood, already starting to investigate before waiting for an answer. "What's in this drink?" He took the near empty cup from Ashimi and took a sip of what was left.

"Pineapple juice, I asked for a refreshing cold drink and it looks and smells like pineapple, so what else could it be?" The other boy answered.

"It's spiked, really spiked," Jonathan accused, while Ashimi continued to giggle.

"Don't be ridiculous!" The green haired teen defended. "There's no way I would get the boss drunk, that's treason! Besides, they didn't ask for my age or anything."

"Idiot!" Jonathan shouted, "you're a Rocket, it doesn't matter if you're young, people around here are scared of getting on Team Rocket's bad side! Don't you know Cinnabar Island is known among rookie Rockets as the best place to get drunk!?"

"Really?" The green haired boy stammered. "I've been so focused on my duties I haven't been attending any social events, so..."

"Hey! Hey, listen!" Ashimi suddenly yelled. "Listen! Hey! Hey, Listen!" She flailed around a bit until she was sure that both boys were looking at her, then she pushed them into the pool, "watch out!" And continued to giggle. Zero couldn't help it but to laugh at the scene. "You think it's funny, eh?"

Zero nodded and answered between laughs, "pretty funny."

"Not funny!" Jonathan and the other teen chorused.

"Hey! Hey! You're cute!" Ashimi ruffled Zero's hair. He he he, hick, he he, I'm gonna kidnap you for ransom, cause you're cute, so you gotta be worth a lot, and I'm a yakuza, so I should be doing gangsta stuff!" With that warning left in the air, Ashimi swiftly picked up Zero and ran off with him.

"Wait a minute, Ashimi, put me down!" The virtual boy struggled to no avail.

'Aniki!' Nidoran dashed after them.

'This is crazy!' Pichu ran off in pursuit as well, followed by all of Ashimi's pokemon. Jonathan rushed to stop Ashimi from doing anything crazy, his pokemon dashed after him and at the end of the parade was the boy whose name no one could recall, who was in no conditions to really run.

Jonathan followed Ashimi to the hotel, she and her pokemon crammed into the elevator, but there was no room left for more. "Ashy, stop!" The doors closed before him and he was left behind. He went into the elevator next to it, though it took a while to get down. 

Just as the doors to the second elevator closed with Jonathan and his pokemon inside, the green haired boy made it to the door, only to watch them go. Sore from his injury, he sat down on the lobby, and tossed the forgotten bags aside. 

xoxox xox xoxox

Jonathan emerged at the seventh floor, that was the number he saw flash on the elevator Ashimi escaped on, so she should be around. They were not planning to spend the night, so they didn't really check in. The hallway was clear, save for the wet footprints leading to a door at the end of the hall. Jonathan leaned against the closed door, holding his ear up to it and hoping the room was empty, despite the odds being against it, as the hotel was usually pretty full. He heard female voices from inside, one of them had to be Ashimi and the other one sounded familiar too. He began to turn the doorknob slowly, hoping to surprise Ashimi and... He didn't know what he would do, maybe get her to drink some coffee or something. The door opened a little and he leaned close to take a peek through the small space, but before he could see anything, the door was slammed shut when he was so close to it that it hit him on the nose. "Ow!" So much for the element of surprise. 

Just as Jonathan recovered, the door was thrown opened and an angry Dorme slapped him. "Peeping tom!"

"What?! I didn't do anything!" Jonathan defended. "What are you doing here anyway? I was following Ashimi!"

"So you admit it? You were trying to spy on Ashimi while she was changing? You're terrible, it's not like you've ever tried to spy on me!" Dorme accused.

"Yes I-what? Wait no, no I haven't. But why are you accusing me of spying and then accusing me of not spying as if it was just as bad? I haven't been spying on anyone!" Jonathan argued in confusion.

"Oh... Well, I guess it's not so bad if you honestly weren't spying on anyone," Dorme considered. "But why did you try to peek in this room if not to spy? I was helping Ashimi change into her kimono, since she's a bit too dizzy to do it herself." Dorme stepped aside to give Jonathan a full view of Ashimi twirling around in an orange kimono with flame patterns, with her pokemon standing around her. She also wore a matching mask over her eyes. "I saw her running in the hallway and asked her what was going on. She said she wanted an orange kimono because orange is a very gangster color, I'm not sure where that came from. Anyway, kimonos in fiery colors like orange are not hard to find in Cinnabar, and it just so happened that I had recently purchased one, so I'm letting her use it. Is she drunk or something?"

"Yes, actually," Jonathan admitted. "It was all Zack's fault!"

"Zack?" Dorme questioned in confusion. "Who's Zack?"

"You know, the guy with green hair and weird eyes," Jonathan reminded. "Butch and Cassidy's son."

"Oh!" Dorme exclaimed in realization. "You mean Barret?"

"Yeah, him, he got a drink for Ashimi without realizing it was spiked. He thought that they would actually ask for his age or something," Jonathan accused. "This is all his fault!"

Dorme rolled her eyes. "Seriously, doesn't he know the reputation of Cinnabar Island?"

"Excuse me for not knowing what no one told me in the first place?" The green haired boy made his appearance behind Jonathan on time to catch the last part of their conversation. He dropped the bags in front of him. "After I came all this way with the bags you guys forgot next to the pool, I find that you're gossiping about me!" He pouted, then took on a proud expression, his mood doing a full one-eighty. "I know, I know, you're jealous because the princess gave me a pokemon!"

"Would you drop it already?" Jonathan snapped. "I am not jealous of you and I don't care that Ashimi gave you a pokemon!"

"Oooh, she gave him a pokemon!" Dorme teased, she clapped her hands together and giggled.

"I already said I didn't care about that!" Jonathan growled in a 'drop it or else' tone. "Ashimi's given me gifts too, like on my birthday and on Christmas and I don't care that they're not pokemon!" He took a deep breath and tried to ignore Dorme and his rival snickering. "Anyway, Dorme, you haven't mentioned why you're in Cinnabar." He hoped she would just let him change the subject.

As fun as the teasing was, it was a valid question. Dorme decided to give Jonathan a break and answered it. "Headquarters thought Sabrina might be hiding here, even if the flame gym leader assured the only fugitives in his territory were two adolescent girls, none of which was anything like Sabrina. I'm not sure what the details are on them, but I'm guessing Daala and Jaina. Either way, I was sent to search for Sabrina, so any other information was considered irrelevant and not shared. I haven't been able to find any clues though. It looks like it's another false lead. I can't blame HQ for being suspicious, only the high ranked Rockets that have a lot on the line actually do their jobs around here, unless the gym leader throws some threats around. But with the gym leader going off on his yearly month-long private training session, the grunts are drunk more often than not."

"What was that?" Ashimi suddenly interrupted in the most aggressive slur she could voice. She hiccupped and made a determined pose. "The Rocket grunts are slacking off and getting drunk? Unforgivable! Death to the traitors!" She spotted her bag and dug her pokeballs out of it, then recalled her pokemon except for Pichu, Furball and Chari. "I'm putting on my pokemon master hat and showin' them who's boss!" She placed Pichu on her head and ran to the balcony. "C'mon Persian!" She called the Meowth, you gotta look all intimidating while you stand next to me and hiss at the grunts. "And you, my legendary, let's give them a taste of your power!" She jumped on Chari's back.

"Wait, Chari, you can't leave! Ashimi's drunk!" Jonathan tried to reason with the pokemon.

Yet the Charizard was too amused to stop now. She shrugged as she approached the railing. Ashimi hiccupped and giggled incoherently. "So this Ashimi person is drunk, is she? Well, she's going to feel the wrath of my legendary!" She patted Chari's shoulder.

"Um... you're Ashimi..." Dorme pointed out.

" I am Madam Boss, queen of Team Rocket!" Chari took off, laughing as she flew.

"I can't believe her pokemon are actually into this!" Dorme dramatized.

"This can be a problem... ow..." The green haired boy flopped on the bed in exhaustion. 

"Who said you could rest in my room?" Dorme pouted and placed her hands on her hips.

The closet door suddenly flew open and Zero and Nidoran fell out, tied together. "I can't believe Ashimi stuffed us in the closet!" Zero complained.

'She's so gangsta!' Nidoran cheered.

"This is no time to be admiring her mobster heritage!" Zero argued.

A series of panicked screams coming from outside caught the groups attention. Setting their differences aside, they focused on the task at hand, stopping Ashimi's drunken rampage. She was flying all over the place with Chari shooting fireballs.

xoxox xox xoxox

Stopping Ashimi's rampage was easier said than done. For the most part, Jonathan, Dorme and Zero just ran around getting lost in the panic of the fireball rain. The situation looked hopeless until three Jigglypuff appeared. The panicking crowd looked to them as an eager crowd and they began to sing. All those in the sound radius slowly fell asleep, which included Ashimi and her pokemon. Chari gently landed, her passengers already sleeping and she soon followed. 

Zero looked at his friends and the people all around, Jonathan and Dorme were sleeping too and the green haired boy was back at the hotel, as he couldn't quite join the chase. The Jigglypuff trio puffed up at the sight of the sleeping crowd, clearly upset, until the sound of clapping reached their ears. The three pink pokemon flocked over to Zero, who had remained awake through their performance and bowed as if thanking an applauding crowd of many.

xoxox xox xoxox

As the ferry made its way slowly across the waters, Ashimi complained for the millionth time about her aching head. She had her head resting on Dorme's lap because the blond didn't want her to rest on Jonathan's lap, so before the idea was even mentioned, she quickly offered herself as a human pillow. Ashimi's feet were propped up on the green haired boy's head, as he kept begging for her forgiveness on his hands and knees and claiming he would accept any punishment she gave, so she thought she might as well humor him to make him shut up. 

"It was lucky that Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup arrived when they did, nothing like a triple Jigglypuff lullaby to stop a rampage," Zero voiced.

"How come you didn't catch them?" Dorme curiously inquired.

"They're not really battlers, they said they're traveling artists, so it was best to let them continue their tour," Zero explained. "They said their mom used to travel all over the world singing for many different audiences. It was hard to find an audience that wouldn't fall asleep in the middle of her song, but she never gave up."

The news was spread among the Rockets who frequented Cinnabar Island, that anyone who slacked off on the job would feel the wrath of Giovanni's granddaughter, who had remained semi-anonymous until then. Thankfully, because of her clothes and mask, she wouldn't be easily recognized if she went out as a regular civilian. With the sun setting in the horizon, the group left the ferry, all save for the green haired boy who still had Rocket business at Cinnabar Island and went back. Tired from the day's endeavors, Ashimi, Jonathan, Zero and Dorme retreated to the Fuchsia City pokemon center for the night.

xoxox xox xoxox

"Rise and shine, time to get up, Ashimi!" Dorme shook the other girl awake and practically dragged her off the bunk bed. She slept at the bottom that night, unlike other times. 

A loud thud from the bed on the other side of the room caught the blonde's attention and she turned her head to see Jonathan picking himself off the floor. "I did that on purpose." It was obvious he didn't.

Dorme shook her head. "Forgot you were on the top bunk this time?" She finished setting the yawning Ashimi on her feet. "Yesterday during your rampage you got my kimono all messy, so it's only fair that you make up for it by getting me a new one. Besides, I helped you, who knows what trouble those boys would have let you get into."

"That's not true! I would have kept her out of trouble!" Jonathan argued.

Ashimi shook her head from side to side as if to wake herself. "Honestly, I rather not talk about what happened. Zero told me Nidoran wouldn't stop going on and on about how badass I apparently was, but I don't remember any of it. If I do something cool, I want to remember it, forgetting it feels like a rip off. Let's just drop it already and never pick it up."

"I emailed Laiki, as you requested," Zero informed. "The rumors in headquarters are that you got angry because the grunts were slacking off. They were all too busy running for their lives to notice you were drunk. No casualties occurred, but some were pretty beat up and burnt. I guess they learned their lesson about slacking off."

"There goes party central," Dorme sighed. "Oh well, never mind that, we have some shopping to do! Get ready quickly everyone, I don't want to waste a second!" She cheered.

xoxox xox xoxox

Dorme was the first to be ready for the day. She went to find a table at the pokemon center cafe, so they could have some breakfast, when she spotted Volt at the counter. Joy returned all his pokeballs and it looked like he was about to leave, but Dorme stopped him. "Gym leader Volt," she voiced to get his attention.

"Yes, but I'm not handing out badges right now, my father is taking care of the gym at this time. I'll still battle you if you want a challenge anyway," Volt offered.

Dorme wasn't in her Team Rocket uniform since she didn't expect to do any work today. "Maybe some other time, I have a shopping trip to attend soon." She walked around him, examining him from every angle.

"I see... Well then, I won't delay you," Volt attempted to leave, but Dorme stood in his way. "What is it?" He asked a bit impatiently.

"You're really nothing like your brother," Dorme stated curiously. 

"What?!" Volt glared, taking it as an insult. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Dorme laughed, "relax, it was a compliment. A bit insecure, aren't you?"

Volt glared, "I am not." He eyed the counter, where Joy shifted nervously, before deciding she had something to do in the back, then he looked back at Dorme. "You're that Rocket, I didn't recognize you right away without the uniform. What do you want with me?"

Before Dorme could reply, Ashimi called out to him, "Volt!" She approached the pair along with Jonathan and Zero. "I haven't seen you in a while, how are you? Had any interesting pokemon battles lately?"

"I've had a few good battles," Volt commented, though it was clear he wasn't really up to the conversation with so many Rockets around. "I see you're traveling with several Rocket agents now."

"I've been traveling with them for a while," Ashimi smiled, Volt's discomfort completely flying over her head. "Dorme comes and goes, but we run into her often, so I'm kind of traveling with her too."

"Say, Ashimi," the cunning look of a good idea shone in Jonathan's eyes. "Why don't we invite Volt to travel with us?" 

Volt gave Jonathan a suspicious look, while Ashimi immediately agreed. "That's a great idea, how about it, Volt?"

"Well..." Volt considered. He had been wanting a rematch. "I can tag along if you want," he finally decided.

"Great! Then let's have some breakfast and we can go shopping afterwards!" Ashimi announced.

Volt paled then shot a deadly glare at Jonathan, who only grinned victoriously. He should have known the blue-violet haired teen had some kind of evil intention in the suggestion of inviting him to the group. Now he would be stuck helping carry a mountain of shopping bags again. "Don't look so smug," Volt whispered to Jonathan, "you'll have to help too." Jonathan frowned, all traces of a victorious look gone from his face.

Zero calmly sat down along with the others, the virtual boy laughed, while the two older boys frowned at him. Surely he would escape any grim bellhop fate because it was obvious that Ashimi and Dorme thought he was so cute. Zero took another moment to look smug while they typed their orders into the touch-screen menu and passed it around. The tablet-like device was inserted back into a slot at the side of the table and after a while, a Chansey waitress brought their food. Needless to say, the pokemon centers and their services had expanded over the years. 

"Don't you worry Zero, we'll get you some presents," Ashimi petted his blue and orange hair affectionately.

Dorme mimicked the other girl's action with a smile. "We won't forget because you're so cute. It's a pity that I won't get to spent the shopping trip with you."

"It's okay, you girls go have fun, we'll manage," Zero smiled sweetly. 

Jonathan and Volt exchanged perplexed looks, which evolved into expressions of realization when Dorme finally clarified. "From what I heard, the Fuchsia mall finally got a proper delivery system to try to compete with online malls. It costs extra, but I have some extra spending money due to my latest mission and Ashimi always gets a juicy allowance, so we'll be fine. That means we won't be needing any assistance with the bags today, which is good because we need to do this on our own."

Jonathan's jaw dropped and Volt looked very relieved. "I still don't see what all the secrecy is about," Ashimi shrugged.

"I already told you, when it comes to grand galas, it is best if the gentlemen don't see the ladies' dresses until the big night," Dorme insisted. "The first meeting on that special night will be much more memorable that way," she emphasized with a dreamy expression. "Since boys are so easy to shop for, you can leave the tuxedos to us, I'm pretty sure I can tell what would fit you. Volt, since you're traveling with us, you can come too."

"What?" Volt summarize his and Jonathan's confusion in that one word. 

Whatever was going on, the girls must have discussed it at some point in the previous night when they were alone with Zero. 'Must have been when I went out for supplies last night.' Jonathan had ran out of Nya's favorite poke-treats and she wouldn't stop crying for them. A tiny, fluffy, lavender kitten in tears was a heart breaking sight, so much that no matter how troublesome it was, Jonathan went out to get the treats, even if he was tired.

"The wedding gala, it's just a few days away!" Dorme exclaimed with a huff, as if saying 'boys never know anything.' "The grandson of some rich big shots is getting married, and since they want to stay in good terms with Team Rocket, they invited the boss. Giovanni is too busy to attend so he delegated the task. Thankfully, my mother was present at the meeting when the subject of public relations came up and she volunteered me. The invitation said it was okay to bring extra people, so you guys can tag along, but you need to be on your best behavior. That especially goes for you, Ashimi, no battling!"

"What's the point of any social gathering if not to battle?" Ashimi complained. 

"I mean it!" Dorme scolded. "It's simply not proper!"

Ashimi huffed, "fine! But there better be good food!"

"How did I get dragged into this?" Volt muttered under his breath.

xoxox xox xoxox

With Ashimi and Dorme gone, that left Volt, Jonathan and Zero to occupy themselves. "I'm going to go hang out at the yacht," Zero announced.

"Yacht?" Jonathan and Volt asked simultaneously, glaring at each other for the copy.

"Wait, you mean with Luke?" Jonathan realized.

"Yup, you want to come?" The virtual boy invited.

"Count me in! Sounds like fun," Jonathan immediately agreed.

"Luke... I've heard of him. He's the father of Comet, whom I've heard my brother dislikes... They say that Comet is a lot like his father, so..." Volt paused and the other two wondered if he would refuse to go. But instead he smiled and concluded, "that must mean he's pretty cool, mind if I tag along too? Hanging out in a yacht does sound like more fun than waiting for the girls to get back so I can battle Ashimi."

xoxox xox xoxox

That evening at the pokemon center, Jonathan, Volt and Zero were resting, though the girls were not back yet. "So let me get this right. You're a virtual android and you feed on electricity. It actually takes energy to disintegrate food once you consume it, so eating drains your energy rather than restoring it," Volt recited.

"Yup, that's pretty much it," Zero nodded.

"Then why in the world would Luke give you such a massive amount of candy?" Volt pointed at the four bags on the table of their guest room. 

"Because he's nice?" Zero logically suggested. He shrugged and pulled a pink lollipop with a yellow star out of one of the bags. "I can still taste food, so I can enjoy candy."

"Okay..." Volt decided not to try to find the logic in it any further, they had candy, why would he want to question that? Luke was certainly relaxed and carefree. It was like nothing could make him mad and no one dared to find out what could, because it would suck to have to think of him as anything other than carefree and nice. That was certainly a different way to train pokemon than what Electro's strict disciplinary tactics were like.

The door opened to allow passage to the tired looking Ashimi and Dorme. They had a few bags with them, but not such a heavy load that would make it difficult to carry. Dorme had two zipped up dress bags, which she insisted Ashimi was too much of a tomboy to know how to properly handle. She placed the dress bags inside the closet and began to sort through the other bags Ashimi had just set down in the middle of the room in favor of focusing her attention on the candy bags. "Whose candy is this?" Ashimi curiously peeked into one of the bags, this was some good candy.

"Mine," Zero smiled sweetly.

"Aw, you adorable little chibi, let's eat candy while you see the presents we got you," Ashimi ruffled his hair playfully.

"Well, I'm really tired, so after we're done putting things away and give Zero his presents, I think we should get some sleep, right Ashimi?" Dorme grinned, giving Ashimi a scheming look.

Ashimi wasn't sure what that was about, but her instinct told her to play along, "right."

"There are two bunk beds in each room, enough for four people, and there are five of us here," Dorme pointed out. Zero was about to say that he didn't need to sleep, but Dorme patted him on the head and discreetly pushed his hand up to return the lollipop to his mouth and silence him. "Since we're going to need two rooms anyway, it's only proper to divide them between the men and women, so you two should go to another room." Dorme made a shooing motion with her hands, telling Jonathan and Volt to leave.

"What about Zero?" Volt asked in confusion. "He's a boy," he pointed out. Virtual or not, he was still clearly a boy.

"Zero is young and innocent, so he can stay here," Dorme decided.

Ashimi grinned, catching on to the plan. "That's right, Zero can stay, but you two have to leave."

"Go on now, it's improper for young men to be sleeping in the ladies' room," Dorme began to push them to the door.

"But I've always behaved... properly..." Jonathan argued.

"Yeah, and I don't have a death wish either... Er, I mean, I'm a proper gentleman too," Volt added.

"No arguing, out you go!" Dorme closed the door, leaving the two boys standing in the hallway. A silent moment passed and then a sound of blissful pleasure was heard from the other side of the closed door. The two teenagers in the hall put their ears against the door in curiosity. "Oooh... This chocolate is to die for!"

Jonathan and Volt gasped in grim realization, "the candy!" They tried to open the door, but it had been locked from the inside. 

"They're so sneaky, I bet they're buttering up Zero with compliments so they can eat his candy!" Jonathan glared at the door.

"Unbelievable!" Volt grumbled in indignation. 'I thought my stupid brother was only bragging when he said he who has the sugar gets the girls, but it sounds like it was true.' Although Electro was actually referring to a metaphor about riches and rank, in this case it could be applied literally. Defeated and disappointed, the two boys made their way to the pokemon center counter to request an extra guest room.

xoxox xox xoxox

Later that night, everyone was sleeping peacefully when Daala peeked into the girls' room through the window. She didn't have any pokemon out and Zero's pokedex abilities didn't detect humans. She looked around the dark room unnoticed. Ashimi was there along with two others, but neither of them were her target. The younger boy was awake and Daala assumed he was guarding the others. She checked the other rooms, wondering why Jonathan wasn't with them. In a different room, he located Jonathan, there was also another boy there, both were asleep, how convenient. She tossed a small sphere into the room and it began to emit gas, from which Daala was protected with a mask. She waited a moment for the gas to clear up before finally letting herself in through the window. 

She placed an envelope on the center table, then approached the bunk bed, both boys were sleeping on the top bunk of the two beds in the room. She carefully began to drag Jonathan off the bed, her face a tad red with the combination of effort and proximity. She had to take him back to her clients unharmed, so she tried not to let him fall. She stumbled as she tried to readjust his weight on her back, he was heavier than he looked. She could use some help from her pokemon, but she didn't want to make any unneeded noise. Besides, her getaway vehicle was parked near by, so she wouldn't have to carry him far. Just as quietly as she came, she was gone.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 24: Grudges of the Heart (Part 2)

The next morning, the girls were woken up by the loud noise of Volt pounding on their room's door. Dorme opened the door, half asleep and Volt burst in. "Sheesh, what's the rush?" Dorme scolded. "And by the way, do you make it a habit to run around in shorts when there are ladies present? Not that I don't appreciate the view, but-"

"Never mind that!" volt interrupted, embarrassed. "You locked the bags in here and it was more comfortable to sleep like this than in day clothes, and it was just us guys in the room anyway, but that's not what matters right now!"

"So why didn't you just put the clothes from yesterday back on?" Ashimi logically suggested.

"Because I was in a hurry!" Volt waved a piece of paper around. "I woke up and Johnny wasn't there, but I found this!"

Seeing as Volt continued to flail around, rather than actually read the paper, Zero snatched it from him. "This appears to be a ransom note."

"Ransom?" Ashimi and Dorme exclaimed in unison.

"Has Johnny been kidnapped?" Dorme panicked.

"By who?" Ashimi demanded to know.

"No, sorry, I was wrong, it's not a ransom note," Zero corrected. The girls gave him questioning, slightly relieved looks, and Volt was confused. The Vermilion gym leader had concluded that it was a ransom note, so he wasn't sure why Zero was now saying it wasn't. Seeing the looks he was getting, Zero elaborated. "Ransom notes provide instructions on how to recover the kidnap victim. This letter is basically saying there's no way we'll get Johnny back and isn't demanding any sort of payment for his safe return." He paused as the girls' expressions became more and more horrified, then quite accurately added. "This really sucks, it doesn't even have clues about where we can go to rescue him."

"Johnny!" Dorme cried out in a panic. "He was stolen because of you!" She tackled Volt in a fit of rage.

"Get off me, you crazy girl, it's not my fault!" Volt argued.

"While you two wrestle, we're going to save Johnny," Ashimi decided. "Let's go, Zero, to the scene of the crime!" She ran out of the room along with Zero to find the boys' room.

Volt and Dorme knocked several things over in their fight and were making a lot of noise. "Ouff... Where did you learn to kick so hard?!" Volt choked out. He grabbed on to Dorme's wrists and tried to pin her down before she killed him. "Calm down! I told you it wasn't my fault, if you could just be reasonable we could-" A loud clang resonated through the room and Volt felt his vision fade.

An angry looking Joy stood over them with an iron frying pan on hand. "Is that gym leader Volt? The nerve of him, trying to steal a kiss like that. I would assume a well known man like Surge would teach his son some manners, and some decency! Are you alright, miss?"

"Um... yeah, I'm fine, no worries," Dorme laughed nervously. She didn't even want to think about what this looked like to Joy, especially since Volt could pass for being two or three years older than he was. "Sorry about the noise?"

"Don't worry about it," Joy gave Dorme the frying pan, "here, keep this just in case."

Dorme nodded uncomfortably and accepted the cooking utensil that doubled as a weapon. "Um... thanks... I'm okay now, so... yeah."

"Alright, call me if you need anything," Joy left.

Dorme let out an exasperated breath and looked at the unconscious Volt on the floor. She ran her hands on the smooth surface of the frying pan. "Joy's swing could use some practice," she mused. "But if I hit him with this I'll crack his skull like an Exeggcute."

xoxox xox xoxox

Later, Ashimi had been called to Saffron City by an urgent message from Jessie and James. They were told about Johnny in case they had any clues, but didn't know anything at first, until recently. Ashimi hurried to Saffron with Dorme, Volt and Zero. As they went through route six, the sound of a police siren reached their ears. "Oh no!" Dorme exclaimed as she stepped on the gas.

"I told you I should be driving," Ashimi complained. "Why does everyone get to drive my car but me?"

"Forget it, with Johnny missing I'm the oldest," Dorme turned a corner out of the highway and through the smaller streets that led to the paths where people traveled on foot or bicycles. "I was just getting a little impatient and went a bit fast."

"A bit?" Volt complained. "This is a car, not a jet!"

"Pokemon detected, looks like some trainers are having a battle in the middle of the dirt path ahead!" Zero warned.

"What? Don't they know that's no place to battle?" Dorme swerved around to avoid the two surprised pokemon trainers. 

"It's no place to drive either!" Volt pointed out.

Dorme ignored him, "Pidgey versus Rattata? They call that a battle? My Pidgey didn't stay a Pidgey for long." She straightened the car and rushed down the path, followed by Jenny on a motorcycle.

"I'm really glad I have a few extra fake license plates," Ashimi breathed.

"You do?" Dorme had not known about that detail. "That's convenient."

"That's illegal," Volt pointed out the obvious.

"It was Johnny's idea, in case we got into trouble," Ashimi shrugged. "Would you rather be the one who gives the explanations?"

"No..." Volt admitted.

"Stop in the name of the law!" Jenny sped up as much as she could.

"Ugh, she's still coming!" Dorme accelerated.

"Switch to all terrain mode and lose her between the trees," Ashimi touched the correct area on the control panel and the car's suspension switched modes.

"It's a lot smoother now, okay, here I go!" Dorme left the path and drove through the grass. "We're not going to get a flat tire with all these twigs and rocks we're running over, are we?"

"Nah, they're airless tires, the covers that make them look like regular air tires are just for decoration," Ashimi explained. 

"Jenny is still after us!" Volt sunk into his seat. "If my father finds out all the trouble I've been involved in lately..." he didn't even want to think about it.

"Relax, they won't recognize us like this," Ashimi assured. They were all wearing black Team Rocket uniforms complete with hats and masks.

"We're almost to Saffron City!" Dorme announced. "It'll be troublesome if we continue the chase through there."

"That's it! Releasing smoke screen!" Ashimi pressed the commands into the control panel and a stream of smoke emerged from the back of the car. Jenny yelled and the sound of a crash was heard, followed by a stream of not so nice or proper words. "Sounds like the crash wasn't too bad if she still had the energy to insult us, but I don't think she'll be able to follow us anymore."

"Why didn't we do that from the start?!" Volt questioned.

"Yeah!" Dorme exclaimed.

"I try not to rely too much on Rocket resources unless it's an emergency," Ashimi excused herself. "Never mind, the important thing is that we're in Saffron City. Slow down so we don't get another Jenny's attention, we're almost there anyway."

Dorme slowed to a normal pace and soon parked in front of Jessie and James' pokemon day care center. Ashimi, Dorme, Zero and Volt exited the car and rushed inside, despite the closed sign on the door. James' voice came from the back room, sounding quite upset. The way he paused, then continue speaking, hinted that the person he was arguing with was on the phone. 

Jessie emerged into the counter upon hearing the sound of the front door being opened and the ringing of the little bells attached to it. "They have him..." Jessie informed. She slammed her fist into the counter angrily.

"Nya!" Meowth came running to them, his pink Purrloin wife following after him. "She's here, all the pokemon are here." Ashimi released the lavender kitten from her pokeball. She looked quite sad, as she missed her trainer. "She's worried about Johnny, we all are."

Meowth hugged his daughter. "Don't you worry, Johnny's a tough Rocket, he'll get through anything. Besides, we know they don't plan to hurt him."

"Not physically at least," Jessie growled in frustration. "But they do plan to keep him prisoner." 

The sound of something being thrown against a wall in the back room was heard and a very frustrated James emerged into the front of the day care center. "They're impossible!" He declared with great frustration. 

Ashimi had known Jonathan's parents for a long time, but she had never seen his father so upset. "What's going on?"

"Where's Johnny? If you've already found him, tell us where he is so we can save him!" Dorme urge, her enmity with Jessie forgotten for both her and the older redhead.

"It's not that simple," James sighed. "My parents insist that Johnny is with them of his own free will. Plus we don't know where exactly he's being held. I already contacted some friends at headquarters, someone from Team Rocket must have seen something."

"Johnny is with his grandparents?" Ashimi didn't even know he had any living grandparents. "But I thought that..."

James nodded solemnly, "after I left the family to escape an arranged marriage and joined Team Rocket, they eventually decided I was dead to them, so I felt I had no choice but to return the favor. The last time I tried to fix things was when Johnny was a baby, but they said, and I quote 'we want nothing to do with you or your peasant brat, you're all dead to us,' so I stopped trying to contact them after that."

Volt's mouth hung open in silence, things kept getting more and more complicated. Dorme tried to assimilate all the information, "it's like a soap opera in real life..."

"Now they're planning to marry him off to some girl, we don't know who." Jessie's anger and frustration was evident, she looked just about ready to explode like a volcano filled with bombs. "They already made an announcement on the radio and the media is all over it. They decided to keep a bit of an air of mystery to it, to keep the media paying attention. They said they would celebrate the wedding of the Kojiro heir and left it at that."

"Kojiro?!" Dorme loudly exclaimed. "The wedding gala we were supposed to be attending to represent Team Rocket was for him? I always thought his lastname being the same as those rich big shots was only a coincidence! I can't believe this, we've been getting ready to go to the wedding not knowing whose wedding it was, Johnny was supposed to go too. Ashimi and I even went shopping and got him a tuxedo, and now it turns out that it was planned to be his wedding all along?!" The blond girl was feeling quite frustrated at not having realized it sooner.

"All those things that Jaina and Daala said, they must have been hinting at this," Ashimi mused aloud.

"Jaina? Daala?" Dorme questioned. "What did they say? What did I miss?"

"Daala is the girl who has been chasing you, I remember Johnny mentioned her in an email," Jessie recalled. "But who is... Jaina?" The fact that the girl apparently had the same name as her dead daughter gave her an uneasy feeling. 

"Some trickster from Tornado, an enemy of Team Rocket!" Dorme huffed angrily. She glanced at Ashimi, who was shifting uncomfortably. "You know more, don't you?"

Every set of eyes in the room looked at Ashimi expectantly. "Well... She... Um..." Ashimi felt trapped with so many eyes on her. She didn't know what to say. "You... you once had a daughter by that name, right?" She started, unsure. If Jaina was cooperating with the Kojiros, then her true identity would be revealed soon anyway.

"Yes, but she... never made it," Jessie admitted.

"And you're... sure?" Ashimi asked nervously.

"Yes," James ascertained. "I was there when Jessie gave birth, I saw her, I held her, Jaina didn't make it."

This put things into a whole new perspective. Jessie might have been distracted by medicine and the pain of birth, but if James was there, then his story had to be true. If he saw Jaina be born and confirmed that she did not live, then the one who claimed to be Jonathan's sister had to be a liar. "Jaina is..." Ashimi felt herself getting angrier than she had ever been before. How dare that girl play with their emotions and trick Johnny? He had gone through so much stress because of her. "She's a liar!" Ashimi angrily shouted. "She's been pretending to be Johnny's long lost sister, claiming that grandpa tricked you into thinking she was dead so he could steal her away and send her to be trained as Miyamoto's successor. She's nothing but a horrible liar," the pulse of Ashimi's aura resonated within her and her earrings glowed and vibrated in response.

A catchy melody came from the back room, "Team Rocket's rockin'! Talkin' trouble, walkin' trouble, double trouble, gonna follow you! Team Rocket's rockin'!"

James snapped out of his shock and went to retrieve his phone, then rejoined the others. It was not a standard phone that shattered when being thrown against a wall, this was a state of the art Rocket communication device built to be very strong. He glanced at the name on the screen and accepted the call in a hurry, putting it on speaker for Jessie and the others to hear. "Laiki, did you find anything?"

"Sure did, Pixel said the Kojiros were on record as having rented the Lavender Town radio tower and Comet mentioned seeing some suspicious activity in that area, but no signs of a struggle," Laiki revealed over the phone. "If the Kojiros are there, it is possible that your son is with them, but it's not a sure thing, since everything seems to be calm and nothing like an escape attempt has been reported."

"They did say Johnny was there willingly, but that's obviously a lie, they must be threatening him with something to keep him in line," James theorized. "Thanks for the info!" 

"Anytime, Rockets gotta stick together!" Laiki voiced. "I would suggest going about this as quietly as possible, but backup is on standby just in case, just say the word and good luck."

James looked at the call ended screen on the cellphone, not really reading it, but thinking. "If Johnny was taken without a trace from the pokemon center, then maybe he thinks all or some of you were taken as well."

"That makes sense," Jessie agreed. "I doubt they're letting him have access to the media or any sort of communication, he must think there's a hostage situation and that's why he can't leave." The theory was logical.

"Then we'll have to show him we're okay, he'll have no problems in escaping then!" Ashimi declared, full of determination. 

"Right! Next stop, the Lavender Town radio tower!" Dorme agreed.

"I'm driving," Jessie announced. No one really questioned her, though James visibly paled.

xoxox xox xoxox

"Ow... my head..." Jonathan slowly woke up, he had been kept asleep by his captors for some time. He felt stiff and uncomfortable, then realized he was tied to a chair instead of laying on a bed. His stomach growled, he felt like he hadn't eaten anything in days. He looked around frantically but didn't recognize his surroundings. He was in a digital storage room, it seemed, because he saw several racks of servers near by, humming softly. His eyes landed on a Machoke that stood by quiet and motionless.

"So you're finally awake," A girl around his age approached. She had long crimson hair that hung limply to her mid-back and bright yellow eyes. 

Jonathan stared at the girl, she didn't look like Jaina but something in his head told him that she was. He felt that he should logically question her sudden arrival while he found himself in such inconvenient circumstances, yet at the same time he felt that he should just be happy to see his sister. "Jaina..." The feeling of serenity won over and he smiled. Surely she was there to save him from whoever had imprisoned him. It was rather disturbing that he didn't remember how he got there and didn't know where his human or pokemon friends were, but his twin was there, so everything would be alright now.

The girl he knew as Jaina leaned over, locking eyes with him in an intense gaze. "I hereby release you from the hypnotism."

Panic hit Jonathan all at once and he began to struggle against the ropes that held him in place. "What's going on? Where am I? Why aren't you untying me?" For some time, whenever he ran into this girl, he felt a deep connection with her, but now she felt like a total stranger and he suddenly distrusted her. She said something about hypnotism, it reminded him about what Ashimi had mentioned about something being off with his aura. Maybe it was something that had been going on for a while, but she was too inexperienced to notice before. As he struggled with the ropes and tried hard to remember what happened, he realized that he was wearing a suit. That didn't quite fit with his last memory which was of going to sleep in shorts. "Um... who dressed me?"

"Huh?" The girl blushed, the question taking her by surprise and making certain mental images resurface. "Oh... I didn't see anything, I mean, no more than what you'd show at the beach. your grandfather said a young gentleman shouldn't be running around in his underwear and had his bodyguard dress you," she motioned towards the Machoke. "You may leave now, Alice."

"Alice?" Jonathan's blush deepened. "That Machoke is a girl?" The pokemon turned around at the door, away from the crimson haired girl's line of sight and winked before leaving the room. "Hypnotism, kidnapping, and this? I feel like my privacy and personal space has been seriously invaded in every way possible!"

"Calm down, let me explain," the girl offered.

"Well, I'm glad you're willing to explain, because I could really use an explanation," Jonathan voiced with impatient sarcasm. "Mind untying me first?" He hoped against hope that she would agree.

As he suspected, the girl shook her head. "Listen to me first," she insisted.

"Fine," Jonathan knew he didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. He wanted to ask what she meant when she mentioned his grandfather. As far as he knew, his grandparents had all passed away before he was born. Yet he didn't ask the question, instead he remained quiet and listened.

The girl took a deep breath and began her tale, "my name is Janebelle," she revealed. "This is what I really look like, no disguises. I'm not your sister, in fact, I'm not related to you at all. My mother and your mother kind of look alike, but that's just a coincidence. As far as I know, the story you were told is the truth, the real Jaina died at birth. If you felt any sort of brotherly emotions towards me you can forget them, I hypnotized you to feel that way. I'm not a very powerful psychic and can't really use telekinesis, but I can hypnotize."

"Sabrina," the name came out of Jonathan's mouth before he could stop himself. As he had already broken his initial decision not to speak, he inquired, "are you involved with the Espers too?"

"No, just Tornado," Janebelle replied. "Has your father ever told you the story of his ex-fiance?" Jonathan silently shook his head. "I thought so. Well, to make a long story short, your father is the son of a particularly influential high society family. He was engaged to marry Jessiebelle ever since they were children. But he ran away and ended up joining Team Rocket. He then met your mother in the organization and, you know how that ended. Before we were born, my mother, Jessiebelle tried to get James back, but obviously it didn't work. In the end she met a man who happened to be a psychic and ended up with him, though they were never married. My father was not a member of high society and it was only a matter of time before Jessiebelle tired of him and ran off to marry some rich widower, who did business with Team Rocket and could add to her fortune."

"Later, I was born, and it wouldn't have been a problem if I only looked like my mother, but my eyes are exactly like my father's. No one in mother's family or her husband's family had eyes like this and he had heard the rumors that she had been seen with a 'peasant' shortly before they married. My DNA was tested and it became evident that I was not his daughter. He divorced mother and she, ashamed of her peasant child, decided to send me away to my father and forget about us entirely. Father was upset about all this, of course. He wished he had never met mother, never served as her consolation. If she had just married her first fiance whom she always went on and on about, then the whole mess would have never happened. But then if she had not ran off to marry that man, it wouldn't have been so bad. Both of those men were involved in Team Rocket and the organization was already on his bad side as they had once tried to recruit him for his psychic abilities and discarded him saying he wasn't good enough. Thus he decided to train his power and one day get his revenge on Team Rocket. He later came to be known as Tornado."

"Then Tornado isn't about saving the world from Team Rocket or being vigilantes?" Jonathan realized.

"Does anyone really care about that anymore?" Janebelle shook her head. "For someone to go that far it has to be for a personal reason, if it's not about riches and power, then it's about love or vengeance or both. Daala is different, she truly believes in Tornado's goal to free the world from Team Rocket, but look at the general public. They are quite content consuming Rocket made products, knowing that their perfectly safe as long as they don't have a particularly strong pokemon to lose. The rich make alliances with Team Rocket to protect and increase their fortunes and more influential figures continue to join the organization. Pretty soon there will be nothing of interest for Team Rocket to steal unless the Rocket steal from themselves, and to stop the organization from collapsing in itself, I believe that was forbidden a few years ago."

Jonathan took in all the information that was offered to him, but one big question still remained. "You mentioned my grandfather?"

"Yes, your grandfather and grandmother are here," Janebelle revealed.

"That is... a bit hard to believe," Jonathan admitted.

"I thought you might say that," to his surprise, she began to untie him. "I'll trust you not to run away, and if you do, I'll sick Alice on you."

"I won't run..." Honestly, he couldn't run away until he got to the bottom of this, besides, he didn't have his pokemon with him and he really didn't want to make that creepy Machoke mad. "My pokemon, are they alright?"

"I would assume so, they were left back at the pokemon center. Daala left a note for your roommate," Janebelle explained.

"So Daala was the one who brought me here..." That girl just kept popping up everywhere and Jonathan was quite tired of it. "What kind of ransom did you ask for? I hope you're not planning to try to make Ashy give herself up, because I won't allow that!"

"You don't have to get so defensive," Janebelle frowned. "I said it was a note, not a ransom note. It basically let them know that they would never get you back. But don't worry, once the announcement reaches the media, they'll know you're okay and hopefully leave you alone. Then you'll never have to worry about being a servant to Giovanni's granddaughter again. You'll have a new life and you'll only ever see the Rocketto during rich social events."

"Ashy is my best friend, she'll always be a part of my life," Jonathan defended. "She hates fancy social events, so if I'm in one of those, it's to keep her from being bored" he added. "And I'm not her servant, I happened to be a high ranked Rocket!" His voice was filled with pride.

"Forget that!" Janebelle insisted. "You are now the heir to the Kojiro financial empire!" She opened the door to the digital storage room and began walking down a hallway, keeping a watchful eye on Jonathan. "Maybe your grandparents will talk some sense into you." Jonathan doubted that he would be convinced, but he wanted to see the people who claimed to be his grandparents.

xoxox xox xoxox

Jonathan was led to a control room with digital consoles and microphones. "This is a radio station," he realized. With so much going on, the answer to where he was had not yet been addressed.

"Yes," two of the chairs in the room were occupied, they turned around to reveal an elderly man and woman. "This is the Lavender Town Radio Tower, one of the few transmitter towers left on the surface of the planet. I am James the second, your father was named after me and my father," the elderly man spoke.

"And I am Elizabeth," the woman introduced herself. "We've rented this radio tower to make a very important announcement." She explained, pausing dramatically. "To welcome you into our family."

"To welcome me?" Jonathan stared in confusion.

"Oh, look at you," Elizabeth examined him, taking in every detail. "You look so much like your father, but I do hope you'll be better behaved. We can't let you turn into a delinquent too."

"You people are... my grandparents?" Jonathan could see the physical resemblance with his father, but the way they talked and their general atmosphere was entirely different. He had always thought his lastname being Kojiro, the same as that financial clan that sometimes came up in the media, was only a coincidence and he wasn't quite convinced that it was otherwise. "I hope you're not expecting me to believe this so easily."

"That is understandable," James Sr. took an envelope out of his suit pocket. "To make sure the person we contracted for your rescue brought our genuine grandson, we took the liberty of testing your DNA. We anticipated that you would have your doubts, so here are the results of our DNA as compared to yours."

Jonathan examined the medical paperwork. The DNA test showed a high similarity between their genetic structure, so much that the couple could almost pass for his parents, especially since he took after his father so much in the physical aspect. "This doesn't prove anything," he argued. "My grandparents died a long time ago, I never got to meet them."

"I suppose he would say that," Elizabeth sighed. "We were the ones that told that stubborn boy that he was dead to us. We tried to reason with him, we really did, but he refused all logic and lived as a criminal."

"Aren't you allied with Team Rocket?" Jonathan questioned their apparent hypocrisy.

"Yes," James Sr. admitted. "But we have no relation with the low-ranked foot-soldiers. Our alliance is to Giovanni's noble family. If only our unruly son had listened to us and married Jessiebelle, he would be living a life of luxury and so would you."

"Listen to yourselves! You can't just force your son to marry for riches! It's no wonder he left!" Jonathan could feel the anger rising in him, on his father's defense. "When I asked about my grandparents I was told they passed away. My mom told me about her mother's adventures, but dad always looked sad. He said his parents didn't go on any adventures, but that they were kind to him as a child. He said the kind parents he knew died when he was a teenager, I guess he didn't mean it literally. He looked so sad that I never asked for more information and thought some sort of tragedy had happened, but this is what truly happened?" It was so ridiculous that it couldn't be a lie. If they were trying to trick him, surely they would come up with something more believable. 

"Don't you see?" Janebelle interjected. "This is your chance to live a rich happy life, and it's my chance too. Father only ever tried to use me, but I was never good enough because my psychic abilities are not at the level of his. Mother is willing to take me back as her daughter to unite our families, we'll be happy together!"

"Unite our families?" Jonathan did not like the sound of that.

"That's right!" Janebelle cheered. "You and I will be married soon, the grand gala has already been planned and even Giovanni was invited. You'll behave in front of your former boss and properly say 'I do,' won't you?"

"I'm not marrying you!" Jonathan exclaimed and backed away until he was against a wall.

"I already told you," Janebelle placed her hands on her hips impatiently."We're not actually related, so it's fine! Would a DNA test reassure you?"

"You think that's the only problem? I get it, we're not related, but I still can't marry you," Jonathan argued. "I hardly know you, and you tricked me, and kidnapped me, and you and your friends totally invaded my privacy, and you used to work for the enemy of Team Rocket, and I don't love you!"

"Stop it this instant!" James Sr. scolded. "Miss Janebelle's unfortunate past with Tornado is not to be mentioned. It does not exist, do I make myself clear?"

"Pretending something didn't happen doesn't make it better," Jonathan refused to back down.

Elizabeth sighed helplessly, "well, no one can say we didn't try. I'm sorry, this is for your own good, James the forth."

Jonathan didn't even bother pointing out that his name wasn't James, he was too worried about the look of resignation in his grandparents' eyes. It wasn't the kind of look of one who gave up, it was the kind of look people got when they were done playing nice. "A pity it had to be this way," James Sr. released his Machoke from her pokeball. "Alice, restrain young James."

"No! Let me go!" Despite all his struggling, Jonathan couldn't free himself from the Machoke, who appeared to be enjoying this.

"Don't struggle so much, you're wrinkling your suit," Elizabeth scolded, as if that was the biggest issue at hand.

"It's okay, honey, very soon you'll be filled with warmth, happiness and love!" Janebelle's eyes began to glow.

xoxox xox xoxox

Later, the indigo sports convertible came to a screeching halt in front of the Lavender Town radio tower in record breaking time. The tower looked normal, aside from the fact that there was a helicopter on the roof, but that wasn't all that rare when there were rich tourists in town. Jessie had no qualms about using the car's weaponry on the officers that dared to give chase, so by the time they reached their destination they were clear of any pursuers. Jessie, James, Meowth, Ashimi, Zero, Dorme and Volt quickly exited the crowded car and dashed into the radio tower. A Machoke came to meet them in the first floor, clearly intent on stopping their progress.

"Flare!" "Growly!" Jessie and James called out their pokemon, but before they could attack, the Machoke found herself the target of another series of attacks.

"Pidgeotto!" Dorme called upon the newest addition to her team, "hurricane!" The bird flapped his powerful wings rapidly, forming a twister strong enough to lift Machoke off the floor.

"Pichu, Thunder!" The electric mouse released his attack, catching the target in the air. 

The Machoke was thrown across the room, twitching in pain. She crawled away into the elevator and retreated to the top floor. "Come back here!" Ashimi and Dorme chorused as they took to the emergency stairs to give chase.

Volt stared in shock. Two against one wasn't even fair and the Machoke didn't have anyone to give her directions, but the girls didn't seem to care, they were relentless. "A bit aggressive, aren't they?" James commented, and Volt nodded in agreement.

"They have the right idea!" Jessie exclaimed, rushing after them, "charge!" James, Zero, Volt and Meowth exchanged concerned looks, then dashed after them as well. 

xoxox xox xoxox

At the top floor of the radio tower, when James, Zero, Volt and Meowth caught up with Ashimi, Dorme and Jessie, they found that they had already finished the Machoke, who lay fainted on the floor. "There was no need to be so harsh with Alice," Jonathan spoke in a sleepy voice. The crimson haired girl clung to his arm possessively. Next to them on one side there stood an elderly couple and there was a woman on the other.

"I don't get it, why is he just standing there?" Dorme asked impatiently.

"I don't know!" Ashimi replied. "Look Johnny, we're alright, you don't have to stay here anymore. your pokemon are with us, there are no hostages, so come over here!" 'His aura is so strange, it's like he's in some kind of trance.'

"Why would I leave my fiance?" Jonathan asked, still sounding half asleep. "Janebelle and I will be married soon, everything has already been announced."

"That's right, we'll be very happy together. As you can see, Johnny, I mean James the forth, is here of his own free will, so you stop making such a ruckus, you're being rude!" Janebelle insisted. 

"Mother, father, Jessiebelle," James glared at the woman. "Something seems very wrong here, what have you done?"

"Nothing at all," Jessiebelle feigned innocence. "Our children are in love and we're just going to have to set our differences aside and let them be together. You want your son to be happy, don't you?"

"Mom, dad, please understand, this is what I want, so just be happy for me." Jonathan spoke in a monotone.

"You don't know what you're saying!" Ashimi shouted. "Your aura's completely messed up!"

"Maybe he'll wake up from his trance with a kiss from his true love!" Dorme was all too willing to volunteer herself to try.

"I am his true love!" Janebelle screeched.

Suddenly, Nya popped out of her pokeball without warning. "Nya, no! You can't come out until it's safe!" Meowth tried to stop her, but it was too late. 

The lavender kitten rushed to her trainer and jumped into his arms. Soon Foxtrot, Vaporeon and Jolteon were all around him too. "You... you're all my pokemon, did you come to congratulate me for my wedding?" Jonathan smiled in a daze. Nya purred and licked his face. "Ha ha that tickles..." The feline's eyes began to glow and Jonathan found himself unable to look away. He closed his eyes and went limp, nearly falling over.

"What's wrong, my love? What did that fuzzball do to you?" Janebelle tried to shake him awake.

Jonathan opened his eyes and saw Nya and the rest of his pokemon. "My pokemon..." His voice was clearer now. He looked around as if waking up for the first time in a long time. "Everyone, you're all here!" He looked at Janebelle next to him and jumped away as if he'd seen something terrifying. He quickly dashed to the other side of the top floor control room to stand next to his parents and friends. "I remember now, you were trying to hypnotize me and then... I'm not sure what happened then, but I know for sure I'm definitely not marrying you!"

Dorme twitched, "the cat beat me to it... This can't be..."

"Wow, it feels like your aura is back to normal, I'm not sure how, but Nya cured you," Ashimi looked at the kitten curiously.

"This may sound strange, but I sensed psychic type energy coming from Nya," Zero revealed. "It was like a more powerful version of heal bell."

"What? But aren't Purrloin supposed to be dark types? How could that thing undo all my hard work in an instant?! It took so much effort to-" Janebelle stopped when she realized what she was saying. There was no denying it anymore, but she didn't mean to confess to her crime so directly.

"You can't do anything right, can you? I should have known not to expect much from you," Jessiebelle turned away, and hurried up to the roof to make her escape.

"Mother, wait!" Janebelle called after her.

"Don't call me mother!" Jessiebelle didn't look back.

"We have to stop her!" Jessie exclaimed.

James placed a hand on his wife's shoulder to stop her. "Forget her, Jessiebelle is just a pitiful woman who doesn't know how to accept her loss. The way she is, she'll never know happiness." He turned his angry look towards his parents. "You have a lot of explaining to do!"

The couple jumped back in fright, their son had never yelled at them like that. "We only wanted what is best for our grandson," James Sr. insisted.

"By brainwashing him and forcing him into a marriage he didn't choose?" James shouted. "You need to understand, what you want isn't what everyone else wants. Your idea of happiness is not our idea of happiness. I didn't exist simply to be used to your convenience and neither does my son!"

"But the party... We already announced that there would be a wedding and Giovanni is sending a representative from Team Rocket!" Elizabeth complained. "We can't back down now! You have to help us!" She didn't realize that the representative was actually there, since she saw them as low ranked grunts.

"Are you seriously asking that!?" Jessie looked just about ready to strangle them.

"I have an idea," Jonathan suggested. "Mom, dad, isn't your anniversary coming up in a few days? Why not celebrate it by getting remarried. That way there will still be a wedding."

James Sr. and Elizabeth stared in horror. "We have to celebrate..." James Sr. began in utter disbelief.

"His wedding to her?" Elizabeth finished, appalled and dismayed. 

Seeing their horrified expressions, Jessie grinned big. "That's a wonderful idea, it would be so nice to finally get your blessing, mom and dad, and in front of a crowd of important people too!" She clapped her hands together and batted her eyelashes in a charming way that didn't match the absolutely evil look in her eyes.

"No!" The Kojiro billionaires exclaimed in unison.

Jonathan stepped forward, glaring with a deadly air. "I don't remember giving you a choice. You'll give my parents the best anniversary party they ever had or..." He paused dramatically and lowered his voice to a threatening whisper. "You won't live to see the light of another day."

James Sr. and Elizabeth hugged each other in fear. "Does he really mean that?" She gasped.

"I don't know, he's a Rocket delinquent, he's capable of anything!" James Sr. panicked.

Volt grimaced, "how did I end up traveling with such criminals?"

"Yes, I mean it," Jonathan insisted, though he didn't really. "That's a bona-fide death threat, so you better watch out. After all, I'm a delinquent, so what can you expect?"

"Oh yes, he's dangerous," Dorme grinned.

"Absolutely," Ashimi agreed.

"Both famous and infamous," Zero added.

Volt sighed and played along, "he's pure evil... really..."

"Alright! Alright! We'll cooperate!" James Sr. pleaded.

"We'll do what you say, please don't hurt us!" Elizabeth begged.

Jonathan grinned mischievously, 'I can't believe they fell for it.'

James sighed, "yup, the boy definitely has his mother's temper."

James soon found himself in a headlock courtesy of Jessie, "what did you say?" She screeched into his ear.

"Nothing, honey, nothing at all!" James pleaded for mercy.

"So that's it..." Janebelle finally spoke. "You're just going to give up? Mother runs off and abandons me at the first sign of trouble and you two are cowards! Fine, we'll all die together!" Janebelle rushed to the control panel and imputed a sequence of commands. The windows were covered by metal panels and everyone was trapped. "Don't you know the secret about this tower? All radio stations are on satellites now, recorded programs that people can download when it's convenient for them are the way it works. No one ever listens to radio stations like they used to anymore. This tower is no good as a radio tower, but it works just fine as a fortress. Team Rocket is preparing to go public with its dynasty and already many fortresses are being constructed or remodeled. This tower is in the experimental stage, however, the security system installed in case the enemy ever took over the fortress is there. With no Porygon-Z within the main control computer, anyone who knows the code can access it, and my father managed to get it out of a weak minded technician's head, I stole the information from him."

Smoke began to pour into the room. "Pichu, Thunder that window open!" Though Pichu tried his best, it was no use, the barrier couldn't be broken. Instead the window glowed with a force field and returned the electric energy in a counter-attack.

"It's no use! None of your pokemon can break out of this tower!" Janebelle assured, laughing evilly, almost insanely. James Sr. and Elizabeth continued to panic and cry.

"Janebelle, stop this! Do you really intend to kill us all?" Jonathan demanded.

"Why not?" Janebelle laughed bitterly. "I have nothing to live for anyway."

"Ugh, girls who get dumped and think it's the end of the world are so pathetic!" Dorme criticized. 

"I knew it, I just knew I would regret tagging along with these Rockets!" Volt growled in frustration. "Pull yourselves together, soldiers!" He coughed at the smoke that drowned the room. "If we don't get out of here fast, we'll suffocate. Maybe she was wrong, maybe if our pokemon work together they can..."

"No, they can't," Janebelle let out another stream of coughing insane laughter. "Go ahead and try, struggle, feel the pain of never having what you want, of always failing!" Without a moment to waste, all the pokemon were released from their pokeballs and sent on the attack. However, the second they came into contact with the smoke they were weakened. "Didn't I tell you? This smoke is especially damaging to pokemon!" Try as they might, not even all the pokemon together could break out of the tower and Nya couldn't muster the strength to teleport.

"Everyone, return!" Jonathan recalled all his pokemon to protect them from the foul smoke.

"Pichu, you better get inside your pokeball too," Ashimi recalled him along with the others, despite the yellow rodent protesting his worries for her. "Stay in your pokeballs, don't worry, I'll be fine, we'll get out of here together."

Zero, Volt, Dorme, Jessie and James recalled their pokemon as well. "You too Meowth," James tossed a pokeball at him.

"What?! Me?!" Meowth protested.

"You'll be safer in there, I'll call you out when..." James coughed, unable to finish his sentence.

Zero had been staring at the control panel intensely the entire time. He wasn't really a pokemon, so the effect wasn't as strong as with the other pokemon, but he wasn't really an ordinary human either, so he wasn't so bad off. 'I won't let them die...' "Everyone!" His sudden voice caught everyone's attention. "It's okay, I got this." He gave Nidoran's pokeball to Ashimi. "I'll miss you all..." Then he ran to the control panel and disappeared into it.

"Zero!" Ashimi's throat felt scratchy from the smoke and her head was spinning. She saw that several of the others had already collapsed. Zero's aura, the essence of his life, had peeked in a burst of energy then vanished. The windows suddenly opened and the smoke began to drift out, thinning as it floated into the open space. "Zero..." Ashimi couldn't sense him at all, he was completely gone, as if he was dead. She tried to force her aura to be more responsive, but she couldn't. Then the dizziness rushed to her head and the world turned dark. 

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 23: Ashimi's "hey, listen!" quote is from Navi from Legend of Zelda. The three Jigglypuffs are named after the Powerpuff Girls, they are the daughters of the Jigglypuff that used to follow Ash around. The lollipop Zero eats looks like Kirby's invincibility candy.

Chapter 24: I couldn't find any names for James' parents and I don't remember them being called anything in the anime, so I just gave them names.


	9. Chapter 9

Awakening

Chapter 25: At The Gala

Ashimi slowly woke up to find herself in a hospital room. "Should have called for backup, princess." Laiki spoke in a sing-song voice, not wanting to greet Ashimi in a gloomy way. "Comet and Pixel brought you here."

"Is everyone okay?" Ashimi asked tiredly.

"Ah... Well..." Laiki decided to start with the good news and just roll from there. "The pokemon are all alright, you'll be just fine too. Jonathan, Jessie, James, Dorme and Volt are fine. James' parents had to be given a little extra medical attention, but they'll fully recover."

"Zero," Ashimi sat up on the bed in alarm. "Where's Zero? What happened to him?"

Laiki let out a breath, there was just no avoiding this. "Zero digitalized himself to stop the radio tower's security system. He wasn't meant to ever re-digitalize because of all the bugs in his system. Pixel managed to retrieve him from the tower's servers, but he's not functioning properly. She's trying to fix him."

"It won't be that easy," Ashimi worried. "Zero isn't just a computer program anymore." She only hoped that there was even a little of his aura left, that the reason why she felt as if it had disappeared was because she was too tired to sense it. "Zero... I guess there's nothing more to do than hope for the best, I'll try to think optimistically." She realized that there was one person Laiki didn't mention. "What about Janebelle?"

"She didn't make it, but wasn't she the enemy?" Laiki pointed out, that made it all better from her point of view. To her, a loss was only a loss if she actually cared or was in some way affected.

"Yeah, but..." Ashimi sighed and let herself fall back into the pillow. "I guess she got her wish, it's still very sad though. She lived a hard life."

"Life is what you make of it," Laiki stood up from her bed-side chair. "I'll send a nurse over to run some tests and see if you can be on your way, no need to keep you here longer than necessary, or princey might hear about it and get worried." She referred to Ash, whom she called the prince of Team Rocket, as Giovanni was still king.

xoxox xox xoxox

After the group was allowed out of the hospital, James Sr. and Elizabeth excused the delay for the party and threw it anyway. They were still a bit scared of Jonathan, even if he wasn't serious in his threats. Ashimi decided to remain positive and hope that Zero could be restored. He had been taken back to the Viridian Rocket headquarters, Nidoran went along with Pixel.

It was the night of the gala, and Ashimi had been left with no choice except to hand over her pokeballs at the pokemon center with the promise of picking up her pokemon after the party. Of course, those were only empty pokeballs she handed over and she took hers hidden in her bag. She managed to keep them hidden thus far, but now that she was almost done getting ready, she wasn't sure how she would continue to hide them. She was in the bathroom of a fancy hotel room, as the Kojiros had insisted that the guests should not stay in the pokemon center to get ready, because the pokemon center was, as the name suggested, a place for pokemon and not for proper ladies and gentlemen. Dorme had gone over to her room to offer her assistance with her makeup and only a closed polished wood door separated the two girls. Ashimi examined her dress. 

The red fabric of the skirt was too long, though Dorme insisted that it would be just right with her heals on, heals that Ashimi wasn't sure she could balance herself on. Yet Dorme insisted that they had to wear women's dresses not girls' dresses. Ashimi wasn't sure why she let Dorme talk her into this. Yet the most important issue at hand was not the length of the dress, but the fact that it clung to her body and left little room to hide the pokeballs. She wished she had one of those pokeball leg straps so she could hide the capsules under the flowing skirt, the only part of the dress that had a good amount of room. Sadly, she had misplaced her strap and didn't have any time left to find it, or buy a new one. She sighed, reduced the capsules to their smallest size and stuffed the six pokeballs down the top of her dress, hoping no one would notice them. At least the built in corset of the dress, seemed to be enough to hide the individual shapes of the pokeballs.

Ashimi exited the bathroom, still barefoot, holding up her skirt so she wouldn't trip on it. "I'm ready for the face paint," she announced.

"Makeup," Dorme corrected. She gave Ashimi a critical look, then let out a humorous little laugh. "You didn't have to go all out with the tissues, the design of the dress was favorable by itself, but you went through the trouble, so I guess it's okay. Though it's a bit too sudden a change."

"What are you talking about?" Ashimi inquired in genuine confusion, while trying to stay still for Dorme to apply eye shadow.

The older girl rolled her eyes. "Ashimi, please, I know you stuffed tissues into your top."

"No, I didn't-" Ashimi stopped herself in refuting the ridiculous assumption. She did stuff something into the top of her dress, but it wasn't tissues. "I mean... I um... wanted to look... like a real woman?" She offered unsure.

"Understandable," thankfully, Dorme didn't make a fuss about it and didn't question how out of character her assumption sounded for Ashimi.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, at the lobby, Jonathan was becoming frustrated with the game of Battle Zone he was playing on his phone against Volt. The goal of the game was to either capture the enemy base camp or defeat all the enemy units on a map. Each player had an army of pokemon as well as tanks and other weaponry at their disposal. The units could move around the map at a set pace, in whatever pattern the player decided, in groups or separately. Each player only saw their own units, giving the game a sort of Battle Ship style. The camp's location was set at the start and it could not be moved. Naturally, it was a smart move to leave some units behind to protect it, in case the opponent discovered its location. The camp marked the starting point of the units' march as they searched the map for the rival's resources. "What? No way! How do you keep finding my camp, do you have cheat codes or something?"

"I just have a soldier's instinct," Volt proudly declared. "Besides, you always put your camp in a corner or right in the middle of the map, so there are only five places where it could be. All I have to do is send out five scouts and send all my troops to the location of the one that spots your camp. You need to work on your war tactics, soldier!"

"One more round!" Jonathan requested, though just as easily, Volt reached his camp and destroyed it. 

"You were desperate to locate my camp and sent out too many units to scout, so your camp was left unprotected," Volt pointed out.

"It wasn't in the corner or the middle this time!" Jonathan defended, claiming what little credit he could grasp.

"No, but it was right on the map's limit. You put it there thinking I would have to march a longer distance, but you forgot that my camp wouldn't necessarily be on the opposite end of the map, neighbor," Volt grinned victoriously.

"Neighbor? You mean your camp was right next to mine? But I sent scouts and didn't find any defenses!" Jonathan pouted.

"My defenses were inside the camp not around it. I know that if you found my camp you'd call back all your units to take it, but since you had sent them in different directions to search for the camp, they would all get there at intervals and the units stationed at the camp would be enough to defeat your soldiers as they came. You really need to learn how to properly organize a battalion," Volt instructed. 

Jonathan leaned back on the couch at the fancy hotel lobby, "I give up. You're better at Battle Zone... but I'm better at real battles."

"I must disagree, on my honor as a gym leader, I insist that I am better at pokemon battles!" Volt argued.

"Want to find out?" Jonathan challenged.

"You're on!" Volt agreed.

A tense silence hung in the air, until Jonathan spoke once more, "but we left all our pokemon at the pokemon center, didn't we?"

"Yes we did," Volt nodded.

Jessie and James arrived at the lobby, along with James Sr. and Elizabeth, they were all dressed up for the event. "Johnny, could you tell them to stop cowering, it's kind of..." 

James was interrupted by Jessie, "annoying!" She finished for him. Her dress was wedding style, as they were supposed to get remarried for the sake of the Kojiros keeping their promise of celebrating a wedding.

"Grandma, grandpa, you can stop cowering now, I won't kill you, I promise, I was only kidding anyway," Jonathan assured. The elderly couple looked unsure, but finally decided to settle for thanking him for his endless mercy. "Do I really look that scary when I'm mad?"

"I think you look adorable," Jessie squealed, though she was his mother, so she might be a bit biased about it.

James smiled, "you remind me of myself when I was your age." 

Jessie rolled her eyes, "yeah, only with a whole lot more guts." James pouted and gave her a look like a sad Growlithe puppy in the rain. "But you were, and still are, adorable," she amended. 

"Are we ready to go?" James Sr. asked unsure.

"Ashimi and Dorme are still upstairs, but they should be here soon," or at least Jonathan hoped they got there at some point in the near future. 

"What's taking them so long?" Volt wondered impatiently.

"You must never rush a lady," Jessie pointed out.

Elizabeth gasped, as if she had heard something shocking, which made everyone's eyes land on her. "I agree," she voiced in surprise. She composed herself and explained, "I didn't think I would actually agree with anything that a delinquent peasant would say."

"What did you call me!?" Jessie growled, her hands reaching for her mother-in-law's throat. 

Elizabeth squeaked and hid behind her husband, who could only tremble as he recalled, "we left Alice at the pokemon center..."

James held back his wife and tried desperately to calm her rage. His mother muttering something about an inherited killer instinct wasn't helping. "Jessie, honey, why don't we go ahead to the limo and have some drinks?"

"Fine," Jessie finally calmed down at least enough to walk away from the scene, dragging James along by the arm. "If I'm going to get through this night without ripping someone's head off, they better have some strong drinks." Elizabeth fainted. James Sr. helped his unconscious wife onto the couch at the lobby, picking up the fancy fan that had slipped out of her hand and fallen to the floor. He fanned her with it for a few seconds until she woke up and composed herself. Then they left to wait at the limo, claiming they could both use some wine. It didn't sound like either party was looking forward to putting up with the other in a sober state of mind that night.

Ashimi and Dorme finally made their way down the stairs, arm in arm, because Ashimi couldn't make it down the stairs in her heals without holding on to something. For all the fuss Dorme made about being seen in her dress for the first time, she wasn't actually paying attention to anyone's reactions. Instead she was focused on her conversation with Ashimi about how cute Zero would look in a tuxedo and about how much they wished he could have been there. "I know what you mean," Ashimi agreed. "He would have looked so cute in a tux with that black piplup gijinka hat we got him."

The girls continued with their conversation, laughing and giggling, making a bee line for the front entrance where the limo was parked, seemingly oblivious to the two pairs of eyes that followed their every move. "They..." Volt began, a light blush creeping over his face. "Look prettier than I expected."

"Yeah," Jonathan agreed, sporting a similar expression. After a silent moment, the boys let out a unanimous sigh, "they completely ignored us, didn't they?"

"Yes they did," Volt undoubtedly agreed. 

"Johnny! Volt! Time to go!" Jessie loudly called out to them from the limo and they hurried to get on. Both Elizabeth and James Sr. seemed horrified by the loud volume of her voice.

With the last two passengers in the limousine, the vehicle began to move towards the site of the grand gala. It was then that the conversation between Dorme and Ashimi died down, as Ashimi occupied herself with the tiny gourmet cookies available to snack on. Dorme couldn't shake the feeling that she had forgotten something and checked to make sure she had both her earrings on and the rest of the jewelry she intended to wear. She examined her lavender manicure and smoothed her deep purple dress before the answer was revealed to her, sitting in the very same vehicle. "Johnny! Volt!" She exclaimed, truly seeing them for the first time. The two boys pouted and pointedly ignored her, causing the blond to laugh nervously and gently elbow Ashimi.

"I know, I know, I'm not going to spill anything on the dress," Ashimi popped another cookie into her mouth and picked up a napkin, extending it over her lap to protect the red dress from any stray crumbs. "Better?" Dorme shook her head and pointed at the boys. "Oh... Hey guys, you look great!" Ashimi offered them a compliment, though they unanimously chose to ignore it because it didn't really feel much like a compliment if their mere existence went unnoticed until someone pointed it out to her. Ashimi shrugged and tossed another cookie in her mouth. "You gotta try these!"

Elizabeth sighed and downed another glass of wine, in the fastest way possible while still looking refined. She honestly had enough of unrefined barbaric women and girls for a life time. At least the boys were quiet. James Sr. offered her a comforting squeeze of the hand and reached over to refill her glass, but found that the bottle was gone. He spotted it in the hands of Jessie, who was drinking straight from it. Jessie finished what was left of the intoxicating beverage and set the empty bottle down, grinning in satisfaction at how wide open Elizabeth's eyes were. "My... wine..." Elizabeth gasped. It had been a particularly old and hard to get bottle, as most of those were purchased by Giovanni himself, though Elizabeth was sure he probably selfishly kept them stored in a basement somewhere or something because no one could possibly drink them all. Frowning deeply, she reached for another valuable bottle and began to chug it down in the most unladylike manner. 

James Sr. gasped, realizing that his wife must have already had one too many cups of wine if she was behaving like this, "dear... please..." He was ignored. Taking it as a challenge, Jessie grabbed another bottle and began to drink while James looked increasingly frightened. 

The limousine arrived at its destination and the occupants headed to the front entrance of the mansion. Because of the delay waiting for Dorme to finish her hair and makeup and do the same for Ashimi while fussing over the tiniest details, most of the guests were already at the mansion. A stage akin to a wedding alter was set up to be used later, while at the present time, the guests occupied themselves socializing and traveling from one snack table to another, hardly eating anything at all, like picky Butterfree in a field of flowers. A live orchestra was playing softly and a few couples were gently dancing to the tune of the classical ballroom music. Both Jessie and Elizabeth made a bee line to the bar with their respective husbands hurrying after them in damage control mode.

Dorme had decided that the boys would start paying attention to her as soon as they saw that she was the prettiest girl at the gala, and went ahead without them. Ashimi watched her go, realizing all too late that she would miss Dorme's help to make her way around. As Jonathan and Volt exited the limo, she called after them, "guys, wait! I really need your support!"

Ashimi sounded so desperate that neither of them could bring himself to abandon her. None the less, the request sounded odd to Jonathan, who knew her quite well. "I didn't think you'd be nervous about being here."

" I don't mean emotional support," Ashimi stumbled out of the white limo, holding on to Jonathan for support in an unexpected hug. Jonathan paused, gulped and attempted to steady her. It was silly that it was so embarrassing, given how familiar they were with each other, but tonight Ashimi didn't even look like her usual self, she looked like a fairytale princess. Ashimi balanced herself on her heals and linked her arm with Jonathan's, doing the same with Volt on her other side and hoping it was enough to get up the stairs and through the front door of the mansion without falling on her face. "Okay, let's go!" She tugged them forward and the trio went up to make their entrance.

Dorme had taken a moment to examine the atmosphere and was waiting for Jonathan to walk up to her and ask her to dance or something. In fact, she'd dance with Volt too if he asked, that would teach Jonathan to play hard to get, and besides, he was looking quite handsome tonight, they both were. Dorme's jaw dropped and a squeak of indignation got caught in the back of her throat when she saw Ashimi enter the party area arm in arm with both Jonathan and Volt, as if they were both her dates. She was saying something about food and directing them to one of the tables which held a variety of miniature desserts on tiny gold rimmed glass plates. 

Dorme huffed and felt herself fume, she was too focused on her anger to notice the presence of another girl standing next to her. "She gets all the guys, eh? Neither of them are half bad."

"This makes me so mad!" Dorme grumbled before she stopped to think about who she could be talking to. She looked at the girl next to her and gasped in shock. "Daala?!" She paused and tilted her head examining the enemy's light blue dress. "I didn't think such a scruffy looking enemy could actually clean up like a lady."

Daala felt herself tense with anger at the comment, but forced herself not to blow her cover further. "I can say the same for you."

"Hmp!" Dorme tossed her hair and adopted a self-righteous pose. "I'm always a perfect lady."

"Unlike her," Daala pointed at Ashimi, who was devouring one mini dessert after another, never mind that pointing at people across a fancy ball room was not exactly lady-like either. "Actually, her escorts are not very gentlemanly either, look at the three of them eat!"

Dorme gasped and marched right over to the trio. She refused to let them look like fools in front of the enemy. "Stop it you three! Behave!" She shouted a little too loudly, drawing more attention than the eating did. "Don't you see that Daala is here and you're making her look good!"

Ashimi, Jonathan and Volt paused in their eating. "The vigilante thief?!" Volt exclaimed.

"How did she get in here? What about those two Conkeldurr holding the fancy gold plated pillars at the gate? Why didn't they stop her?"Jonathan questioned.

"She's all dressed up like a lady, so they probably didn't realize she wasn't supposed to be here," Dorme theorized. "With the party being delayed the Kojiros must have feared too few of the people they invited would actually show up and become lax about letting people in as long as they looked like they belong."

"Did she challenge you to a battle?" Ashimi eagerly asked.

"No, and it wouldn't matter anyway because we left our pokemon at the pokemon center, remember?" Dorme reminded.

"Yeah, that we did," Ashimi nodded mechanically. "So what did she want?"

"I... don't know," Dorme realized, she shrugged her shoulders and replied with the most logical reasoning that came to mind. "To cause trouble, I suppose."

"Where is she?" Jonathan looked through the crowd, but didn't see Daala anywhere.

Dorme looked to the spot where Daala was a second ago, but she was no longer there. "We lost her..."

"You mean you lost her, soldier," Volt complained.

"At least I spotted her!" Dorme argued.

"We better go look for her," Jonathan began the search. Agreeing with the fact that a vigilante and thief couldn't be left to run free at the wedding gala, Volt went off to search as well.

Ashimi held on to the table for balance. "I'll be on the lookout from here, since I can't really get around in these heals anyway."

Dorme sighed in exasperation and disappointment. "This is not how I imagined this night to be."

xoxox xox xoxox

In another area of the colossal ballroom, Giovanni made his way through the clusters of guests with Delia on his arm. Though everyone seemed all too happy to see them, he knew that they were terrified of him and jealous of Delia. If she didn't notice, or pretended not to notice, how green with envy people were of how gracefully she aged, Giovanni wasn't sure, but her cheer and positivity made them all the more bitter. The matter of the Kojiro wedding gala was supposed to be attended to by Domino's daughter, but the change of date gave Delia some extra time to convince Giovanni to go. It was neither his nor her first choice of a break, but from Delia's perspective, anything that got Giovanni out of the workaholic environment of his office was good enough.

Delia smiled with delight as she spotted someone she recognized. "Isn't that Surge's boy, over there next to the punch bowl?"

To call the towering General Electro a boy didn't seem fitting at all, but Delia always acted motherly to him, as if he was still a child. "Yes, I believe that's him." He wasn't there by requirement, as he had the night off, so Giovanni could only reach one conclusion. "He's probably here to try to pick up a rich girl."

Delia giggled. "But he's all alone. It seems all the young ladies are being shy. They must not want to approach him because he's a little rough around the edges." Most people would say that Electro, alias Thor, was rough all over rather than just around the edges, but Giovanni decided to humor Delia with a nod of agreement. She mused on the situation for a moment before deciding, "we should help him."

"Help him?" Giovanni was becoming curious, maybe the gala would be amusing after all. He wasn't even sure who exactly was supposed to get married, but he didn't really care. "How do you propose we do that?"

Delia thought about it for a moment until an idea hit her. "We should go talk to him. When people see that we're not afraid of him, they'll go talk to him too."

"I might scare them," Giovanni grinned, not at all disappointed by the possibility.

"Oh," Delia frowned a little. "I suppose that if they see you two talking, they might think you're planning an invasion or something."

"Not that there's anything left to invade, unless I invade my own territory, and that wouldn't really be called an invasion," Giovanni reminded.

"You're right, but it still wouldn't help Electro." Delia considered the options for a moment longer before suggesting another idea. "I know! If I dance with him, the girls will see he's not scary and he won't be short on dance partners for the entire night. You don't mind, do you?"

Giovanni grinned in amusement, the possibilities promised to be hilarious. He could imagine the towering general trying to dance with the delicate Delia. "Go right ahead."

Delia clapped her hands together in glee. "Thank you, Giovanni!" Then she went on her merry way towards Electro.

"This I have to see," Giovanni went off to find a good spot from where to watch.

xoxox xox xoxox

"Hello, Electro, how are you, sweetie?" Delia greeted with a smile, as if speaking to a small child.

"Lady Delia," Electro was visibly surprised at her presence. He knew that there would be someone there officially representing Team Rocket, but he had heard it was Dorme. "I'm fine," he replied a little stiffly. "I assume you're here with Giovanni?"

"Oh yes, he's right over..." Delia looked around but was unable to locate her husband. "It seems he has gone off somewhere."

"So, is there anything you need? Security detail maybe?" Electro asked.

"Not at all," Delia smiled sweetly. "I actually came over here to ask you to dance."

"Dance?" Electro was taken completely by surprise. "Ah... Well... Sure..." He couldn't very well refuse, but he was also terrified of somehow hurting her. She seemed to be so fragile in comparison to him and if she was hurt in any way he'd have the entire Rocket empire to deal with. Strong as he was, the general knew he couldn't possibly survive the full force of the entire Rocket military, he had trained them himself after all.

xoxox xox xoxox

Giovanni watched as Electro stiffly danced with Delia. He couldn't hear their conversation, but she was probably speaking to him as if he was a shy, socially awkward, adolescent boy. The Rocket boss was amused by the show until he heard a familiar voice calling out, "grandpa!"

Before he could stop to think of the consequences, Giovanni turned to look at the source of the voice and spotted Ashimi at a near empty sweet snacks table, waving him over. He hurried to her, "stop that, if you bring attention to yourself here-"

"Giovanni! So this is your granddaughter?"

"What a fine young lady!"

"Why she's lovely! You must introduce her to my son!"

The same people who were gossiping about the young girl in the red dress and calling her a savage glutton with no manners in their quiet whispers, were now just about ready to worship the ground she walked on.

Giovanni began trying to reply to each member of the crowd and laugh at all the right intervals. That lasted for a record breaking time of ten seconds before he recalled that he was the Rocket boss and he didn't have to humor all this gold digger hypocritical non-sense. "Move," he growled rudely. The crowd of aristocratic financial tycoons parted with nervous laughter and Giovanni escaped their entrapment with Ashimi in tow.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ash and Misty arrived at the gala, having been invited by Jessie as part of her plan to spice up the event by getting Ash to battle and make a big ruckus, he had a talent for it in the past years after all. They approached the bar where Jessie and James were at. "Sorry we're late, happy anniver-"

Before Misty could finish her sentence, James shook Ash by the shoulders, pleading and begging. "You have to help us! Jessie and mom got into a drinking contest and they're throwing things and refusing to stop!"

"Please, help us!" James Sr. begged as well. The elder and younger James appeared to have bonded over the rampages of their respective wives. "It's been years since she's done something like this, she hasn't been drunk since James was born. She quit to give him a good example, I didn't think she'd go back to her old ways after so many years. She's only ever had tiny sips of wine in moderation since then. I never could have guessed an extra glass of wine to relax would send her spiraling back to her old ways!" The old man cried.

"I didn't even know that story!" James exclaimed, tears streaming down his face.

"It was a shameful secret, oh the pain!" James Sr. and Jr. hugged each other and cried disconsolately.

"O-okay... I could try to help them clear their minds with the aura, maybe that will sober them up." Ash offered.

xoxox xox xoxox

A few feet away from the crowd, Giovanni let out a breath that was half relief and half annoyance. "We made it out, you can stop clinging to my arm now."

Embarrassed by how she blew her cover, Ashimi smiled sheepishly. At least these were not people that she would run into on a regular basis. "Actually, I can't walk on my own in these heals," she confessed, staring at the floor.

"If they're so troublesome, then why do you wear them?" Giovanni logically inquired.

"The dress is too long, and don't girls always wear heals for fancy parties like these anyway?" Ashimi looked up at her grandfather, then back to the floor upon seeing his disapproving expression.

Giovanni shook his head. "Do you think I was proper back there? Do you think I did what was expected in that situation?" Ashimi looked unsure of what to say and Giovanni continued. "We're Rockets, we don't conform to society, we rule over it."

Ashimi's eyes sparkled with admiration. "You're absolutely right!" She rebelliously ripped off her heals and threw them aside. "I'm going barefoot and if anyone has any problems with it, they can answer to my-"

Ashimi was going to say pokemon, but stopped when she saw Dorme rushing over, calling out, "boss!"

"Fists..." Ashimi finished.

Dorme had her eyes focused on the Rocket leader and her mind focused on the urgent message she had to deliver, so she didn't notice the shoes that lay in her path until she tripped over them and fell flat on her face at the Rocket boss' feet. Recognizing the girl who called out to him, Giovanni inquired, mentally preparing himself for the worse. "What did you do that was bad enough to make you beg for forgiveness on your hands and knees... And face?"

"Ow..." Dorme lifted her head off the floor and whined, "nothing, sir." She stood and examined what she tripped on, her eyes wide in recognition. "You took off your heals?" She gaped at Ashimi as if she had committed a terrible crime. "No matter how tiring it may be, a lady is not supposed to be barefoot in public! A lady's feet are very delicate!" She lectured, so absorbed in her indignation that she completely forgot about Giovanni.

"But you're so good at kicking, you can kick down doors and everything. How can your feet be delicate?" Ashimi shot back.

Dorme gasped and looked dismayed. "That is... That is not the point!"

"I'm a Rocket!" Ashimi proudly declared, "I don't conform to society, I rule over it!"

Giovanni looked proud at Ashimi's declaration and Dorme looked aghast. The blond lowered her head, fists clenched at her sides, body shaking as if she was a time bomb waiting to explode. For a second there Ashimi thought Dorme would punch her, consequences be damned, but instead, she ripped off her high heals and threw them behind her. She felt like she had an epiphany, that badass girls are better than proper ladies anyway. Dorme then turned to Giovanni and saluted like a soldier. "There is an enemy of Team Rocket in our midst, but it is of no concern, I will apprehend her myself!" Dorme rushed off to her mission, realized she would probably need some pokemon power and lifted her skirt to pull a pokeball off the strap on her thigh. A young man whistled as she released Hitmonlee. She walked right up to him, punched him in the face and sent him crashing to the floor with a broken nose. The crowd panicked and stepped aside to grant her passage as she and her pokemon dashed off.

"That pokeball leg strap," Ashimi glared after Dorme. "It's mine! Dorme! I was looking for that! What ever happen to leaving the pokemon at the pokemon center?!" She ran off in pursuit of the other girl and tripped over her long skirt. "Furball, I choose you! Slice this stupid dress down to size!" The feline cut the bottom portion of the skirt to make it shorter and easier to run in, then followed after his trainer as she rushed away.

Giovanni stood there, staring after them, until Delia joined him. She had finished her dance with Electro and left him with a few words of encouragement. "Was that Ashimi? She's so lively, reminds me of Ash at that age." She smiled sweetly as if it was all harmless fun.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ash took tiny sips of his wine to numb the pain of his aching head while Misty tried to console him. None other than Surge had joined them at the bar and he was still laughing. "I never knew Jessie was a master of the drunken fist," Surge joked. His wife was off in Hoenn on official business and he didn't feel like staying at the gym, so he went out without any real plans and ended up there. His military apparel stood out among the tuxedos and ball-gowns, but he was Surge, and no one dared to question his attire. He was glad to be there, the amusement he had gotten so far made it well worth it.

xoxox xox xoxox

Daala bravely, or foolishly, walked up to Electro and glared hateful daggers at him. He gave her a look that would make most people burst into terrified tears, but she remained unfazed. She had heard Jaina, or rather Janebelle died in an murder-suicide attempt that turned out to be only a suicide as far as she knew, albeit she had not seen the younger Rocket boy with the blue and orange hair lately. Daala had confronted Jessiebelle about the death of her friend, and was surprised by what happened, though she couldn't say it was not deserved.

After a staring contest with Electro that lasted several seconds, Daala stomped on his foot with her heal, catching his pinkie toe, then she ran away. Electro hollered in pain, hopped on one foot, then caught himself and roared like a beast. With a plethora of scathing expletives, he rampaged to give chase.

Jonathan and Volt witnessed the event, unnoticed by Electro. "I think I can respect her after all," Volt declared with admiration.

"If she actually has the guts to face Thor, she's worthy of admiration. It would be awesome if she joined Team Rocket," Jonathan agreed. "Thor is so..."

"I know! And he's so..." Albeit neither Volt or Jonathan finished their sentences, the two boys appeared to be perfectly capable of understanding each other. Their eyes shown with the bond of a true friendship based on their mutual dislike for general Electro. They hurried after Daala and her furious pursuer to witness the show.

Daala ducked under a long narrow table. She had no problems fitting through, but Electro's broad shoulders couldn't get through the space between the table's legs. He lifted the table in a furious rampage and threw it across the room as if it weight nothing at all.

Dorme, whose dress was now in a similar state to Ashimi's, saw Daala and ordered Hitmonlee on the attack. "Hi jump kick!" Daala ducked and the fighter pokemon leapt over her, his foot connecting with Electro instead. Dorme squeaked in fright, recalled her pokemon and dashed away while Electro took to chasing her instead of Daala. Spotting Ashimi ahead, Dorme grabbed her wrist and pulled her along, too panicked to question Furball's presence. "Run for your life!"

"What are we running from?" Ashimi demanded to know.

"Thor, duh!" Dorme shouted in terror filled exasperation.

"When I get my hands on you, I'll make you train until your muscles turn to dust!" Electro shouted. "All of you!"

Jonathan and Volt realized they had been seen and included in the threat. They took off running along with the girls, complaining in a chorus, "we didn't do anything!" Yet they knew it was useless to try to reason with Electro when he was angry.

"Let me go! Rockets don't run away! Real Rockets fight!" Ashimi shouted.

"Sorry Ashy, this is for your own good!" Jonathan picked her up and kept running.

"Put me down! We have to fight!" Ashimi argued.

"There's the boss!" Dorme spotted Giovanni with Delia.

"Sanctuary!" Everyone except Ashimi pleaded, as they took cover behind Giovanni. The Rocket boss sighed, people used to run away in fear of him and now they flocked to him for protection. How the times had changed.

Jonathan put the fuming Ashimi down, unaware that she was about to blow up like a bomb. "Poor dears, you look terrified!" Delia showed them compassion, which made Jonathan, Volt and Dorme surround her and cling to her skirts like frightened toddlers.

The loud roar of Electro was heard as he caught up to them. Ashimi had enough, she called out the rest of her pokemon. "Everyone, attack!"

xoxox xox xoxox

Later, Giovanni, Delia, Ash, Misty, Jessie, James, James Sr., Elizabeth, Surge, Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt stood in front of the demolished mansion ruins. Daala had disappeared, both Elizabeth and Jessie were fast asleep, several of the guests were sent blasting off, and there was little to salvage of the once majestic mansion. 

Electro emerged from the rubble and approached the group. Before he could make any threats, Surge walked over to him and gave him a pat on the back. "That was some party, eh?" He laughed loudly.

There were only two people in the world that Electro feared, Giovanni for obvious reasons, and his father, for reasons so deep and mysterious that Electro himself couldn't explain them. "Yeah..." The general felt he had no choice but to agree and let his rampage die down for the time being, but he would not forget it.

Surge went over to James Sr. and shook his hand, "you sure know how to celebrate!" He looked over at Giovanni, who appeared to be amused. "Are they our allies or what?"

"Yes, they are," Giovanni agreed. "I did enjoy the evening." It was quite a surprise to find out that James' lastname being Kojiro was more than just a coincidence like everyone assumed. James Sr. struggled to find a reply, but instead he fainted. The younger James caught him and set him down to rest next to his mother and wife.

"So, Ashimi, what are you planning to do now?" Ash inquired, making light conversation as if all that had happened was perfectly normal.

"I think I'll go to Pallet Town, then move on to Viridian City on foot, so I can do some training along the way before I battle for my final badge," Ashimi decided.

"You better do a lot of training," Giovanni warned.

"I will!" Ashimi cheered. "For now, we should go back to the pokemon center so you guys can get your pokeballs." Jonathan and Volt grinned sheepishly before holding out their respective pokeballs, which they had secretly brought too.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 26: Misleading Tactics

Somewhere hidden... "Isn't it better this way, Jessiebelle?" Tornado's yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. The woman offered no response. "I blame you for the girl's death and though you are hardly a replacement, you are at least more obedient." He was but a shadow of who he used to be, corrupted by grief and power for years. Jessiebelle still remained silent, her gaze lost. She didn't make a sound, she couldn't form any words or even thoughts of her own, for she was nothing but am empty shell, a vessel whose soul was so deeply entrapped that it was hardly there at all. He sensed the coming presence before Daala approached. "Did you enjoy the gala?" He inquired with sarcasm.

"Nothing of interest happened." She walked past him, not expecting any comments about her wrinkled dress or messy hair, which had been impeccable when she left earlier.

xoxox xox xoxox

A few days later... The afternoon sun shone over the expanse of the Oak land at Pallet Town. Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt had released all their pokemon to play with the others that lived with Gary. The Dragonite Ashimi took from Janebelle was there as well, slowly adapting to a life that didn't require constant servitude. "Who do you think will win?" Ashimi asked the toddler sitting at the sidelines between her and Dorme.

The boy was dressed as a Squirtle, which looked absolutely adorable. He looked at her with big green eyes and tilted his head as if in thought and piped, "squirtle!" He was really getting into character.

"Squirtle, huh?" Ashimi looked back at the battle and nodded. "If you say so," never mind that neither combatant was actually a Squirtle. Dorme was watching the battle with such deep concentration that Ashimi wondered if something was wrong. "Dorme? Are you okay? You look like you have a headache."

"I don't have a headache," Dorme didn't take her eyes off the battle, she didn't even blink. "I'm just concerned. Foxtrot is Johnny's strongest pokemon as far as I know, though Nya has some weird power going on for her. His choice of sending Jolteon out to battle makes sense in that his opponents attacks would be less effective on a pokemon of the same type, but still..."

Ashimi laughed lightly, "you're over-thinking it. Let's just enjoy the match."

"How could you even say that? Johnny must defeat Volt and recruit him to Team Rocket!" Dorme dramatically declared.

"Recruiting him wasn't in the deal, and besides, I defeated Volt once before, so shouldn't that be enough to defend Team Rocket's name or whatever?" Ashimi reminded. "Now that I think about it, you have been inviting Volt to officially join really often lately. Why is that? Do you like him or something?"

Dorme sighed, "brutally honest, aren't you? No, that's not it, I still like Johnny best, I just thought that it would even things out if Volt was around, like a double date," she explained.

"Best?" Ashimi questioned the detail, though her question went unanswered.

The girls focused on the battle once more. Raichu's volt tackle just barely missed Jolteon as she dug to take cover underground. "This battle will be over soon!" Volt confidently declared.

"It looks like I have no choice but to use that..." Jonathan mused aloud. "It's a special power that Jolteon has, a mysterious secret power that I cannot hope to understand."

"You're bluffing!" Volt exclaimed.

Jonathan grinned, "not at all... Jolteon, do it!"

Jolteon looked at her trainer and brother, who sat beside him watching the battle. "Jolt jolt!"

Jonathan looked distressed, "what do you mean you can't do it?!" At least he had begun to better understand Jolteon and Vaporeon.

Jolteon let out a breath while Volt erupted in victorious laughter. She signaled to her brother and a short argument between the electric and water eeveelutions followed. Raichu had to pause and stare, because it sounded like Jolteon was asking her twin to attack her. Finally, Vaporeon attacked with a water gun. The move was unexpected and amused Volt further. "Stop it, Vaporeon! Not only is this cheating, but it's cheating against your own trainer!" Jonathan complained.

The water gun finally ceased and Vaporeon huffed, sounding angry over the argument he apparently lost. Jolteon was clean of all the dirt that previously clung to her. She relaxed her electricity, making her golden fur go from spiky to soft. "Looks like Jolteon's just about ready to give up!" Volt was about to sent Raichu to finish her off, but Jonathan's look of relief made him feel as if there was a trap awaiting.

"I get it now," Jonathan smiled. "Although I'm not sure if I should say it's cheating, since the attack is against my own pokemon. I guess I shouldn't have expected it to work so easily after all the digging. Okay, go for it Jolteon!"

"Go for what?" Volt questioned both curious and confused. Jolteon walked slowly and deliberately towards her opponent, her fur still soft, devoid of its usual static. "Be on your guard, Raichu, I think I know what she's trying to do! Jolteon relaxed her electricity so that if you shock her, her coat will absorb most of the hit, then she'll be close enough to attack you physically even while you're releasing your electricity!" That was the only theory that Volt could come up with. Yet he couldn't send Raichu on a physical attack, since Jolteon also had the option of re-spiking her fur and that would be painful. The Vermilion gym leader watched on in alert.

Jolteon continue her slow walk, then stopped a few feet away from Raichu. She yawned and stretched, then got comfortable on the grass, eyes half closed. "Is she using rest?" Ashimi wondered.

"No, that's not it, don't you see?" Dorme got all excited about what she hoped could turn the battle around. 

"See what?" Ashimi blinked in confusion.

"You're such a child," Dorme teased.

"What?" Ashimi questioned, but received no answer.

Jolteon tossed her head back, her wet ears falling limp at the sides of her face. She looked right at Raichu and purred seductively. Volt was quite confused. If she dared to take a nap to try to recover her power, he could send Raichu to give her a rude awakening, but she was still very much awake, purring like a feline. "Raichu..." Volt wasn't sure what to tell his pokemon, he couldn't figure out this mysterious tactic. As if in a trance, Raichu approached Jolteon. "Raichu? What are you doing, soldier?" Despite being cautioned, Raichu continued on his way until he was right in front of Jolteon. Jolteon extended her paws as if to hug him and Raichu seemed ready to return the embrace.

Vaporeon had seen enough, his protectiveness took over and he attempted to interfere. Jonathan held him back by the tail. "Stop it, Vaporeon, you can't attack!" The water eeveelution tried to break free with a water gun, which left his trainer soaking wet. Jolteon went on the attack, biting and scratching Raichu, and Vaporeon finally seemed to calm down. 

"Raichu! Defend yourself like a soldier, fight back!" Raichu couldn't quite get a hit in, he was fast and strong, but Jolteon ultimately had the speed advantage even if Raichu had more strength. Being attacked so viciously and continually, Raichu didn't have the opportunity to physically fight back and instead tried to break free of the situation with an electric attack. Jolteon's fur became spiky as it absorbed the static and voltage, then returned it point blank at Raichu, who was thrown back by the force of the hit. "Raichu!" The pokemon fell at Volt's feet and very slowly and painfully got up. "That's it, soldier, you're still in this!" Volt glared over at Jonathan, what kind of a secret power was that?"

"I told you, it's a mysterious secret power that not even I understand," Jonathan replied with the same explanation from before.

"What are you talking about?" Volt argued. "It's attraction, she's just being charming and brainwashing Raichu with her... strange female powers... Okay, I guess your description was pretty accurate," he finally agreed.

"You see, I told you!" Dorme bragged, "I so totally called it."

"You did?" Ashimi shrugged, seeing it as no big deal.

"Squirtle!" The toddler laughed.

"Let's finish this battle, Raichu, attack with everything you have, use-" Volt paused and watched his pokemon. "Raichu? What's wrong, soldier?" Raichu whimpered and ran back to his trainer. "Raichu! This is no time to cry, pull yourself together, soldier!"

"Oh oh... You hurt his feelings," Jonathan voiced. Jolteon shrugged as if claiming it wasn't her fault. 

"I consider this cheating..." Volt grumbled in annoyance, as his pokemon continued to cry on his shoulder. "Besides, Vaporeon interfered, it might not have worked as well without that bath."

"I guess you have a point," Jonathan admitted. "Want to rest and start over?"

Raichu shook his head pleadingly and Volt frowned. "Pull yourself together, soldier!" Volt put him on the ground and pushed him forward.

"Stop it, Volt!" Dorme left the sidelines and marched right over to him. "Don't you see the poor dear is hurt? Johnny, I do hope you haven't been going around breaking hearts to teach Jolteon this trickery!" Dorme shouted angrily, then added in an inaudible whisper, "or heads will roll."

"What? No! That's Jolt's own natural talent!" Jonathan argued and Jolteon nodded proudly. "Besides, I only thought it would be a distraction, I didn't realize Raichu was so sensitive."

"Raichu is a soldier, he can take anything!" Volt's argument fell short as he noticed that Raichu had taken refuge in Dorme's arms and she was consoling him, talking to him as if he were a child. "Dorme... You're not helping Raichu toughen up. "

"You're being too hard on the poor dear," Dorme picked up Raichu and set him down next to Jolteon. "Now Jolteon, girls like us who have powerful gifts need to learn to use them wisely and in moderation."

"But you don't have any electric powers, do you?" Ashimi interrupted.

Dorme sighed, "how can she be so perceptive for everything else and be so clueless for this?" She asked no one in particular. At least Jolteon seemed to have gotten the message and appeared to be considering it. Dorme gave up on Ashimi and turned her attention back to the two electric pokemon. "Alright you two, shake paws and make friends, go on now." Jolt protested and Dorme looked at Jonathan pointedly.

"She just wants a poke-treat," he explained. "She won't do any tricks like handshakes or rolling over unless you pay her off."

"But I don't want a trick, I want them to be friends!" Dorme pouted. She pointed at Jonathan accusingly, "it's your fault for not teaching your pokemon to be mindful of other's feelings!"

"How was I supposed to know this would happen?" Jonathan tried to argue in return.

"Um, guys..." Ashimi pointed at the two electric pokemon. "I don't think they're listening anymore.

Jolteon was pulling on Raichu's ear, who seemed to be a little upset about it, but her actions didn't appear to be malicious. Vaporeon shot a water gun at Raichu and Jolteon scolded him then continued pulling Raichu away by the ear, while Foxtrot went over to calm Vaporeon and see if they could all make peace. "Look at that, they're already friends. See? Everything worked out in the end!" Jonathan smiled.

"Raichu getting his ear mutilated is a sign of friendship?" Volt couldn't quite believe it. "That Jolteon is a piece of work." A lavender ball of fur rolled down the hill at the bottom of which they stood. Nya looked up dizzily, went up the hill again, and rolled down again. "Your Purrloin is pretty peculiar as well..."

"Nya is... Honestly, I don't even know. I was thinking of getting her a full examination at headquarters," Jonathan admitted. "Since we're here and all, I might ask Gary to figure it out." 

Volt sighed and watched Raichu run off to play with the three eeveelution siblings. "Deserter..."

"Give him a break, you're probably way too hard on him anyway," Dorme insisted.

"What about discipline!?" Volt countered.

"What about dango?" Ashimi suddenly interjected. Her question seemed to be so random that everyone looked at her. "We were going to eat the dango we got on the way as an afternoon snack, remember?" At the mention of food, Nya stopped playing and teleported, though no one knew to where.

"But the battle's not over!" Volt watched in horror as everyone followed Ashimi to the research lab to get a snack. "Such an undisciplined bunch they are, what a bad influence." He shook his head and remained still... but only for a few seconds. "Wait for me! I want some sweet dango too!"

xoxox xox xoxox

Soon the group settled outside to eat, but their snack time was interrupted when the sky was darkened by the shadow of a machine that could be described as a combination between a hovercraft and a helicopter. The blades were located under the vehicle, creating a strong wind below it. Jonathan stopped and stared at the machine. "That thing is so awesome!"

"The smooth black surface of the hover-copter had a large green T painted on it. "Check out that letter T, this thing isn't from Team Rocket!" Dorme pointed out.

"A T for Tornado?" Ashimi realized.

"We're right below the enemy, evasive actions!" Volt urged.

"Squirtle?" The small boy looked up at the older kids with curiosity. 

"No worries, it's all under control," Ashimi smiled reassuringly. No sooner had the words left her mouth, the wind from the machine increased, lifting them into the air.

"If we get caught on those blades, we'll end up in pieces!" Dorme shrieked.

"Clefable, get us down!" Ashimi called out. The pink pokemon did her best to hold the group down with her telekinesis, but the wind was very strong.

"A slicing and dicing tornado machine, cool!" Jonathan cheered despite the obvious danger.

"This is no time to admire the enemy's resources, soldier!" Volt scolded.

"Pichu, Furball, thunder!" Ashimi went on the attack. The Pichu and the Meowth released their electricity together, but it was absorbed and the blade spun faster. Clefable's psychic grip could barely hold them away from the lethal sharp blades above.

"Nya, now would be a good time to teleport us out from under that thing!" Jonathan called upon his Purrloin, but received no answer. "Nya? Where are you?"

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, inside the laboratory... "What a peculiar Purrloin. I was quite surprised when you teleported like that. Here's some more dango to snack on, now sit still while I measure your brain waves." Gary adjusted the oversized helmet on the feline's head. "How strange, there's not a whole lot of brain activity when it comes to actual thought process, but there are signs of psychic power, I'm not sure what to make of it." He typed a few things into a computer that was connected with the helmet. Everything in the lab was very quiet, as the area was sound proof to help him concentrate on the research. 

Both Gary and Nya remained completely unaware of the peril taking place right outside. 'Maybe I should get Ashimi and her friends some pizza, or burgers, or pizza burgers, or something later,' Gary mused. 'I'll tell them to deliver it at dinner time.' He wouldn't have been able to catch up on his research if they hadn't offered to take care of his young son for the afternoon. The boy's mother often worked late, which left the toddler in his father's care more often than not, given that his workplace and living area were in the same building, though that usually meant late nights trying to catch up with his research projects.

xoxox xox xoxox

Outside... "Chari, melt those blades!" The Charizard attempted to do so, but the flames were pushed back by the strong wind. "Wartortle, water gun!" Thankfully, the water pokemon managed to put out the flames before they hurt anyone. "Why is it that everything I try to do just makes things worse?" Ashimi grimaced. Clefable let out a sound of complaint, she couldn't hold them back any longer.

"This is our last chance soldiers, all together, on the attack!" Volt tried to rally the troops. Everyone called upon all their pokemon along with him and they all attacked at once. Ashimi's Pichu, Meowth, Zubat, Wartortle and Charizard, since Clefable was busy with defense, Jonathan's Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon, Dorme's Oddish, Hitmonlee and Pidgeotto, Volt's Raichu, Elekid, Magneton and two Electrode. The mix of different elements hit the blades above all at once, sparks flew at them, but they finally managed to overload the vehicle's defenses. The blades overheated and broke apart, the metal just barely missing the trainers and pokemon as they fell to the ground, becoming stabbed in the soil. 

Long vine whips extended to the ground, with Daala sliding down on one and Jessiebelle on the other. After landing, Daala recalled her Venusaur from the overloading machine above into the safety of her pokeball. The hover-copter exploded, raining sparks and flaming metal all over the place. "There goes the payment I got for retrieving Johnny."

"You bought that with the money you got for my kidnapping?!" Jonathan fumed. He was also embarrassed, as he knew, though he didn't remember, about being carried around unconscious in his underwear until that creepy Machoke girl dressed him later. Looking at Daala in the face was no easy task.

"I got it at a garage sale in Saffron City," Daala kicked one of the metal pieces in frustration. "And it wasn't cheap!"

"I thought it looked familiar," Jonathan realized. "It must have been one of the Pikachu capture machines that was never used. You just repainted it, didn't you?"

"I covered up the ugly red R," Daala admitted.

"Pikachu capture machine? What are you going on about, soldier?" Volt interjected, confused. "And what's that about a red R? Was that thing originally Rocket technology?"

"Never mind the details!" Jonathan tried to drop the subject, though he would have to call his parents about selling that machine, he would have liked to keep it for himself. "So um... is everyone okay?" No one appeared to be too badly hurt, which was a relief. Gary's son even looked like he ended up having fun. "What are you doing here, Jessiebelle?" Jonathan finally asked.

"I must destroy you in the name of Tornado..." Jessiebelle was in a deep trance, her voice sounding like a monotone. She tossed out a pokeball, its red beam revealing a Florges. "Feel the power of my ultra expensive imported pokemon, granddaughter of Giovanni..."

"You sound like a bad commercial! Zubat, I choose you!" Ashimi didn't need to throw the pokeball since all her pokemon were already out anyway. Zubat seemed a bit surprised as he flew over. "C'mon pal, it's about time I sent you out to battle for something other than a training match! Use acrobatics!" 

"Florges, petal blizzard..." Jessiebelle ordered. Zubat flew around the projectiles, rapidly approaching his opponent.

"Am I the only one that finds her monotone totally creepy?" Jonathan inquired.

"You're not alone," Dorme agree.

"Not me, I'm a brave soldier!" Volt crossed his arms in a prideful gesture and stood firm. Dorme picked up a feather her Pidgeotto had dropped in the earlier crisis and discreetly stood closer to Volt. While Volt was watching the battle, she tickled the back of his neck with the feather. Volt yelped and jumped in surprise, causing Dorme and Jonathan to burst out in a fit of laughter, while Ashimi was too focused on the battle to even notice. "I'm just... a little ticklish, that's all!" Volt pouted.

"Sure you are!" Dorme grinned teasingly.

Zubat reached Florges and when he was close enough, Ashimi put the next step of the plan into action. "poison fang!" The attack was a success, poisoning Florges. "That Florges is strong, but we can beat her!"

"Florges, petal dance..." Jessiebelle ordered.

"Zubat, don't stop moving, keep using acrobatics and super sonic!" Ashimi was feeling pretty confident, there was no way that she would be beaten by a pokemon that wasn't even trained by her opponent. Florges got confused and completely panicked. She didn't wait for Jessiebelle's next order and continued throwing petals in every direction. Both her opponent, the trainers and the audience were forced to take cover. "Zubat, fly high and take cover in the sky until she's tired out, I think you might have scared her a bit too much." Ashimi sounded amused. After a few more chaotic moments, Florges began to tire out and her petal dance attack slowed down. "Alright, Zubat, finish her with air slash!" Surrounded by light, Zubat dove. His speed increased as he approached Florges for the finishing blow, and by the time the attack was completed, Golbat had taken Zubat's place. "Evolution and victory! Awesome!"

"Florges, return..." Jessiebelle remained unfazed, as if she wasn't fully aware of the world around her. "Machoke..." She sent out her next pokemon, which turned out to be a familiar one. 

Completely ignoring Jessiebelle, the Machoke ran across the designated battle area and trapped Jonathan in a bone crushing hug. "Alice... Can't breathe..."

"I told you not to use that one yet!" Daala scolded. 

"Did you get her at the garage sale too?" Dorme asked in annoyance.

"No, I stole her from the Kojiros," Daala shamelessly admitted. "They were at the sale, whining about how unrefined it was. They apparently expected it to be like some kind of art auction for snobs. I'm not sure why they didn't just leave. I didn't feel good about doing business with Rockets so I had to steal something."

Jonathan really needed to talk to his parents about doing business with Daala. He hoped he could remember that even if he blacked out, because it felt like that would happen pretty soon if Alice didn't give him some room to breathe. "A-air..." His face was turning the same color as his hair.

"Hey Daala, when are you going to join in?" Ashimi asked impatiently.

"I don't want to interrupt, battle her first," Daala stood back and watched. "Oh and just so you know, your friend over there is dying."

Everyone looked at Jonathan who was blue in the face. Foxtrot went over to Alice and began an argument, though thankfully she was reasonable enough to let him breathe. She still held him like a plush toy though. "I'm not dead yet..." Jonathan gasped for breath. "The Tornado leader, Janebelle's father, he was the one who brainwashed Jessiebelle, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he blamed Janebelle's death on her and sentenced her to be executed," Daala revealed. A dramatic pause passed and she added, "she was supposed to be executed by Team Rocket after Ashimi's murder, but honestly, being brainwashed stupid as she is there's no way she could accomplish that, especially since she was already stupid to begin with."

"So you decided to help," Ashimi concluded. "Well it won't work!"

"Vileplume..." Jessiebelle sent out another pokemon. "Solar beam..." 

"Get ready, Golbat!" Ashimi cautioned. The bat was prepared to dodge at any split-second, but no attack came.

"Solar beam..." Jessiebelle repeated. Vileplume walked up to her instead, speaking in her own language. Though the others couldn't understand her, it looked like she was trying to make Jessiebelle snap out of the hypnotism. "Solar beam..." Jessiebelle repeated again, but all she got was Vileplume's desperate voice in return. "Solar beam..." Jessiebelle continued to echo like a corrupt sound file.

"I can't watch this anymore..." Ashimi walked across the battle area and placed her palm on Jessiebelle's forehead, letting her energy flow into her. Jessiebelle made no attempts to stop her, not reacting at all, as if she didn't notice. 

Surrounded by a soft glow, Jessiebelle closed her eyes. Vileplume watched in wonder as her trainer fell to her knees dizzily and finally came to. "What? Where... where am I? Vileplume? Did I fall asleep in the garden?"

"Nope..." Jessiebelle looked up at the voice to find Ashimi, she gasped and stood on shaky legs, staring in shock. "You were brainwashed by Tornado, you're in Pallet Town."

"That man..." Jessiebelle backed away, holding on to Vileplume, the only one of her pokemon that truly cared about her, the pokemon she had since she was a child. "He's after me now, he said such terrible things. He said Janebelle is dead, did he... did he kill her?"

"You idiot!" Daala interrupted in anger. "Janebelle killed herself and tried to take her would-be fiancé, his family and friends with her. But it failed and only she died. Yet the more I think about it, the more suspicious that sounds." She glared at the Rockets. "Why was it only Janebelle who died?"

"I've been thinking about that too," Ashimi admitted. "We all inhaled the poisonous gas, but we lived. She must have really wanted to die..." 

"She wanted the filth," Daala pointed at Jonathan, "then she wanted death... It's better than being allied to the Rockets, but..."

"You're lying!" Jessiebelle shouted. "You're all lying! Janebelle can't be dead... I was frustrated because of all that happened in the past, but I never had any ill wishes for her, I just... I didn't want to... I had a reputation and... the scandal... I had to send her away, I thought it was best for both of us that way. I never wanted her to die!" Jessiebelle cried as she held onto Vileplume.

"It's too late to be sorry!" Everything was falling apart, not that Daala believe the plan could work after the vehicle was destroyed anyway. That machine was her only chance, and even that wasn't enough to overpower them. Daala released her Donphan and Houndoom, she whispered something to them and they went on the attack. Donphan rolled towards the group, sending them running to dodge and calling their pokemon to fight back. "Venusaur, earthquake!" Between Venusaur shaking things up and Donphan rolling, that was enough of a distraction for Houndoom to snatch Gary's young son and bring him back to Daala, holding him upside down by the tail of the Squirtle costume. Daala recalled her Donphan and Venusaur, then released her Rapidash. The sudden change made everyone turn their attention to her and notice the squirming boy she was holding.

"I thought you were watching him!" Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt pointed at each other.

"I'll make you a deal, let me leave and you get the boy, swear it on your honor as an aura guardian, Ashimi," Daala offered.

"You know the legends? Fine, I have no choice, I swear..." Ashimi agreed. "But next time you won't escape!"

"Here you go," Daala put the boy down and he toddled over to Ashimi in a hurry. Then she recalled Houndoom and rode off on Rapidash towards the fence at the Oak land's limit. The unicorn majestically jumped over it, then they disappeared down the road leading out of Pallet Town.

"At least it's over," Dorme let out a breath. "What are we going to do with her?" She pointed at Jessiebelle.

"She looked pretty shaken, but she is not to be forgiven after all she did!" Volte replied, though Dorme had asked Jonathan.

Jonathan agreed, "what happened with Janebelle was in part her fault," he replied, still trapped in Alice's arms. "Janebelle was creepy and insane, but she didn't deserve such a sad end."

"But it's a lie!" Jessiebelle cried. "She must have gone back to him, back to Tornado..."

"Who is the man known as Tornado?" Ashimi demanded to know.

"Tatsu..." Jessiebelle whispered in a gasping breath, Tatsu Maki, once a humble psychic with a kind heart, albeit a poor peasant at best, but he wasn't malicious, despite his involvement with Team Rocket. They didn't want him though, they said his powers were weak and his kind heart even weaker. So I guess he got rid of his kindness..."

"Tatsu Maki..." Ashimi repeated. "Tell that to headquarters and don't tell them about Jessiebelle, say she's gone if they ask."

"What? Why?" Dorme was ready to send a message, she stopped and looked at Ashimi in surprise.

"Because we're going to let her go..." Ashimi glared at Jessiebelle, "leave..."

Jessiebelle wasn't sure what to say. She still didn't fully believe Janebelle was dead, but Vileplume was pulling her away. She decided to follow the advice of her loyal companion and headed for the front gates. She hurried down the path and saw a cafe not far away, which used to be managed by Delia in the past. She still owned it, but didn't work there anymore. Jessiebelle headed in that direction to call her driver to pick her up.

"Why did we let her go too?" Dorme asked somewhat annoyed. It was bad enough that Daala had escaped.

"As bait, if Tornado goes after her again, we'll catch him," Ashimi explained. "He might be smart enough not to fall for it, but we might as well give it a try. Tell Comet and he'll know who to recommend for the job." 

"Gotcha!" Dorme prepared the message accordingly.

"Now that that's over, how about we battle, Volt? I did say I would battle you after you were done battling Johnny, and the dango was blown away, so we can't just go back to snacking. Clefable, do you want to battle next?" The pink pokemon shook her head and yawned, indicating that she would rather nap. "Aw c'mon, I know you have more endurance than that," Ashimi encouraged. Clefable shrugged, then lifted Volt's two Electrode and smashed them against each other with her telekinesis. The two pokemon were taken by surprise and exploded on impact, falling left and right, fainted. Clefable grinned in satisfaction as if asking if that was enough. "That was a fast victory, well done, Clefable," Ashimi commended.

Volt was having a hard time metaphorically picking up his jaw from the ground. "That's cheating! Why is it that no one is playing fair today?"

Ashimi shrugged, "two against one is not fair, but I'm not complaining," she joked.

"Celes... Rodes... You really need to learn not to blow up over everything," Volt sighed. He had nicknamed the pair to better distinguish them, as they were both Electrode, the female was Celes and the male was Rodes. Their names were based on the first and last four letters of their species with an added S in honor of his father, Surge.

"Weren't you in the Indigo League before? Did you make it all the way with just electric types?" Dorme asked curiously.

"No, I had other pokemon with me. My first was Pichu, my father's pokemon is his father," Volt explained.

"That's the same as my Pichu," Ashimi petted her loyal companion.

"He was a Pikachu by the time I went to the Indigo League. Magneton has been with me since those times too, I caught him as a Magnemite. I had other pokemon too, but I've always favored electric types. Even so, I had a balanced team for the league. It was close... But I only made it past the first two of the elite four. After that, my pokemon were so tired they couldn't make it past the third," Volt admitted. "I decided to become a gym leader afterwards, my pokemon knew that would happen sooner or later. I thanked them for their help and let them go. They still visit me at the gym every now and then, but they live as wild pokemon most of the time. I didn't want to keep them if I was going to follow the electric gym tradition and not really battle with them much, that's why I set them free, so they could get stronger on their own." 

"Celes and Rodes are still relatively new to the team, I got them after my battle with Ashimi and trained them from Voltorb during the time we spent traveling separately. I already had Elekid when I became a gym leader, though that was after the Indigo League." Volt frowned for a moment without even noticing it. "He was my brother's pokemon. He had two Elekid that he made to battle each other. This Elekid's brother evolved into Electabuzz and Electro said I could have the other one. Then I decided that one day I would help Elekid become strong enough to beat his brother in battle and at the same time, I would defeat my brother too." Volt caught himself and fell silent, he had said too much and yet he didn't really feel like taking it back.

"Then let's do it!" Ashimi encouraged. "Electro probably went back to Viridian City, you should go challenge him!"

"I lost last time, it's not that simple," honestly, Volt didn't quite feel ready. 

"Yes it is! You got all the way to the elite four in the Indigo League. Even if you don't have all the pokemon you had at the time, you can train pokemon very well and that proves it!" Ashimi insisted. "If you lose it's because of your own lack of confidence! Be brave and challenge your brother again!"

Volt was still feeling somewhat unsure, but he was not a coward. Ashimi was right, he wouldn't make any progress by avoiding the issue. "I will! I'll go to Viridian City and challenge him right now!"

"I should probably do some training while I'm at headquarters," Dorme mused aloud. "I want to keep getting the attention of the higher ups, maybe try to beat my record at the obstacle course. I'm aiming high after all." She looked at Jonathan, twitching a little at how the Machoke girl was still holding him. She wasn't about to delegate her matters of the heart to anyone, not even her own pokemon, but she knew she couldn't possibly beat a Machoke in hand to hand combat. If anything, she used the scene as a motivation to improve her combat skills. "Johnny, you should probably take a few fast training courses too, or they might sign you up for additional required training if they see you're slacking off."

"Extra training with Thor..." Jonathan shuddered. "Yeah, I think I'll do some training at HQ too."

"I'll catch up with you guys later. I want to walk to Viridian City on my own, like dad did years ago," Ashimi decided.

Gary stepped outside cheerfully, with Nya following him, she had been quite a fascinating research subject. "Everyone, I got you some... pizza... burgers..." His cheerful expression turned to shock when he saw that the ground was cracked, the grass charred, there was debris all over and several very large and sharp looking blades were stabbed into the ground. His eyes searched for his son, who seemed to be perfectly fine, albeit his costume was a bit dirty, which was nothing out of the ordinary for a toddler playing outside. 

Ashimi smiled sweetly, "did you mention pizza burgers, uncle Gary?" The researcher could only nod slowly.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 27: Defeat

At Saffron City, though the garage sale they so heavily criticized was over, James Sr. and Elizabeth were still at the city. They stopped by the day care center and Rocket trading post run by Jessie and James to ask the same question they have been asking every day. Jessie knew what was coming and answered in annoyance before the question was repeated again. "No, we haven't heard from Alice."

Elizabeth sighed sadly, "poor Alice, I didn't realize I would miss her this much."

"I say that if she is ever returned to us we should keep her as a pet rather than a bodyguard," James Sr. suggested.

"That's a splendid idea," Elizabeth agreed.

Jessie gave them an odd look. "How is a pet a step up from a bodyguard?"

"Isn't it obvious?" James Sr. wondered if she was seriously asking that question.

"Pets don't have to work, plus they have a team of servants of their own," Elizabeth elaborated.

"Okay..." Jessie rolled her eyes at the odd people. "Anyway, Alice isn't here, so-"

The sound of an incoming pokeball through the trading system was heard from the room behind the counter. Seconds later, the younger James emerged from the back room followed by Alice. "Jessie, we have to call my parents, Johnny found- huh? They're already here?"

"Alice!" James Sr. and Elizabeth exclaimed in unison.

xoxox xox xoxox

Jonathan felt a bit odd going ahead to Viridian City with only Dorme and Volt, but Ashimi had insisted on going on foot by herself. That wasn't the only thing that occupied his mind, as he couldn't stop thinking about Nya's unusual element. Surely something like that couldn't have gone unnoticed by Team Rocket, especially since Nya's mother was once Delia's pokemon.

Upon their arrival at the Viridian City Rocket headquarters, the three took their separate ways for the moment to take care of business. Dorme had to report and Volt needed to get an ID created for his finger prints to be identified by the system. He figured he would have to be able to make his way to the training areas if he was going to battle his brother.

Jonathan considered going to the lab, but decided to pay Laiki a visit first. She seemed busy as usual, though glad for the visit. "Hey, did you just get back?" She smiled.

"Yeah, Ashimi isn't here yet though. She wanted to walk from Pallet to Viridian like her father did in the past," Jonathan explained. "I actually came to ask you something about my Purrloin." He released the pokemon from her pokeball. "She's been using psychic abilities, and Gary found that her element is psychic rather than dark."

"Oh yes, the little mutant," Laiki grinned in recognition. "I looked into it when she was born under the pretence of a routine examination. Her mother, a pink Purrloin, was Delia's pokemon for some time and before that, she belonged to Giovanni's mother. At first Giovanni thought the pink was dye, but it never went away. Then he figure it must be a similar effect to those pink fruits from the Orange Islands, but without the need to continuously eat them. He also thought she was unusually stupid, so he had me look into that out of curiosity." Laiki petted Nya, who purred, entirely unaware that her mother was being insulted. "It turns out that the old Madame Boss had gotten her hands on some Mew DNA and used it on her Purrloin. The process was sloppy at best and it didn't actually grant her any power, it only turned her pink. As for her daughter, she doesn't have any legendary power either, though she is actually pretty strong. Her element is psychic instead of dark, so I guess you could use that to throw off your opponents. Other than that, I'm pretty sure the mutations killed her possibilities of evolution, so she'll stay tiny, cute and harmless looking for the rest of her life. I guess you could use that to your advantage too. I should have known Gary would find this interesting, even if it's not all that grand, should have mentioned it to him before. Oh well, so what's new? I heard a rumor that the general's brother was going to challenge him, is that true?"

Jonathan couldn't help it but to laugh, they just got there and already the rumor had spread. "It's true," he confirmed. Laiki's green eyes sparkled with curiosity, some things, such as her need to know everything that was going on, never changed.

xoxox xox xoxox

"Thunder!" The flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto flew away in fright, only for the electricity to continue stretching forward and knock them out of the sky. Ashimi yawned, 'maybe this would have been more exciting if I had done it at the start of my journey.' A Pidgeot landed near by, screeching at her in an angry scolding tone. "Alright! A challenge!" She cheered before realizing that she knew that Pidgeot. "I know you, you were dad's Pidgeot, you remember me?" The bird nodded and extended his wing to point at the Pidgey and Pidgeotto, then made his scolding sounds again. "Aw, I wasn't picking on them, I just wanted to battle!" Pidgeot shook his head and pointed at the road as if telling her to go find someone else to pick on. Ashimi huffed and stomped away. "Fine! C'mon Pichu lets find some real pokemon to battle."

A short distance away, the sound of a Fearow from above caught her attention. "Pichu, thunderbolt!" The Fearow was very high up, so only the very end of the attack reached her. It wasn't enough to knock her out of the sky, but it certainly annoyed her. She swooped down and grabbed Pichu in her claws, then flew away with him. "Come back here with my Pichu!" Ashimi dashed after them. "Pichu, use thunder!" Pichu did so, though it didn't come out too strong because Fearow was choking him. "Don't give up, Pichu, give it all you have!" Pichu tried once again and continued the electric output without pause. The bright lights shone across the sky, until finally, the Fearow had enough. Pichu had been knocked out as well from the effort of the massive amount of electricity that it took to knock down Fearow. 

Ashimi tried to recall Pichu into his pokeball as they fell, but they were moving too fast and the red beam could not reach him. Fearow, knocked out but with her claws still entrapping the unconscious Pichu, fell into the pond below. Without a second thought, Ashimi dove after them and hurried to recall Pichu, then threw a pokeball at Fearow. She emerged with the capsule, one of which contained a new capture. "That was a workout..." She got out of the pond and clipped the pokeballs to her belt. She allowed Pichu to rest and called out Furball to continue her training, severely disturbing the peace through the Viridian Forest.

xoxox xox xoxox

Later, Ashimi finally made it to the Viridian City Rocket headquarters. She got her pokemon healed and went to inquire about Zero, however, what she found was quite disappointing. Zero was encased in a glass cylinder with machinery at the top and bottom. Comet stood next to it, one hand on the surface of the glass, Nidoran on his other arm, while the virtual boy within thrashed about. Zero punched and kicked the glass wildly, growling like that time when he lost control in Lavender Town. "Sorry little guy... It kind of feels like it's my fault," Comet whispered.

"Of course it isn't," Pixel insisted, from the console attacked to the machinery. Prism, her Porygon-Z materialized out of the computer, looking exhausted. Zero turned into glowing blue code, as if he would disintegrate into nothing, but the machines on his container increased their humming and prevented that. "He's still too unstable, not to mention crazy. I better digitalize him again." Pixel glanced at Ashimi, who was frozen in silence at the door. "Come in."

Ashimi silently walked over to the glass and looked at the wild creature within, she panicked when she couldn't sense Zero's aura at first. Gasping in desperation, she placed her hands on the glass, palms glowing lightly. Zero calmed down for a moment, then went back to thrashing and his glitching intensified. Ashimi let her arms drop to her sides. "Zero..." She sensed the tiniest bit of aura in him, but it was weak and flickering. 

"I've materialized him several times hoping he would reboot, but he keeps going into this state. I think his program mistakenly identifies this as a sort of safe mode, though it's anything but. I'll have to digitalize him again before his code gets worse. It's probably best to keep him in storage for a while, the technology available now just isn't enough to help him," Pixel explained sadly.

Ashimi frowned, Zero was her friend and she felt helpless to do anything for him, plus she knew that Pixel was only being gentle with her. "No amount of technology can repair a broken soul." Tears escaped Ashimi's eyes, though she didn't seem to notice. 

Pixel continued with the process and saved Zero into a data storage crystal, designed after the crescent moon diamond, a valuable piece of artfully cut jewelry. "I'll leave Zero in your hands, that's the best that can be done, if not for the time spent with you, he wouldn't have gone as far." She placed the crystal in Ashimi's hands.

Ashimi clutched the crystal, wondering if it was truly okay for her to have this. She wanted to keep Zero with her, but would he be safer at headquarters? She looked up at Pixel and Comet. "If the only hope left is the supernatural," Comet voiced, "then he's better off with you."

xoxox xox xoxox

Jonathan had gotten up to date with the latest happening at headquarters. The name Tatsu Maki didn't really reveal much, as he had become so anonymous that it was as if he died and continued to exist only as Tornado. Albeit Rocket agents chosen for the mission by Comet were keeping an eye on Jessiebelle, it didn't look like Tornado was going to make another move. He was sneaky and smart to remain under the radar for so long. Besides, Sabrina was still the priority as per Giovanni's orders.

When Ashimi found her friends after taking a moment to calm down, they were at the cafeteria with the green haired boy whose name no one seemed to remember. The anonymous teenager was still bragging about how the princess gave him a pokemon and Jonathan was looking rather grumpy. Dorme was going on and on about how Jonathan wasn't Ashimi's number one Rocket knight after all and that he'd probably get demoted the second the Rocket Kingdom was officially established. She was only teasing him and Jonathan should have known that, but even if he did, he was still annoyed. Volt was simply staring at the far wall lost in thought about his upcoming battle against Electro. 

Ashimi approached the group and joined their table, with Nidoran following. She now wore the data crystal on a chain around her neck. She quietly observed as Jonathan looked to be just about ready to reach the very end of his patience and send his pokemon on the attack. "Setzer, I thought you were going to try to be Johnny's friend," Ashimi reminded.

"Princess!" The boy noticed her presence and bowed. "I am! I'm telling him all about the awesome pokemon you gave me!" He smiled widely, then quietly added under his breath, "and my name's not Setzer."

Ashimi let out a breath, "right..." She leaned on the cafeteria table, crossing her arms on top of it and laying her head on them. She felt the chain of the data crystal around her neck and though it was light, it suddenly felt as if it weighed a ton. She would have to focus for her match, but her head and her heart, just weren't in it.

"Now that I think about it, isn't Zero supposed to be here?" Dorme half asked and half stated. "We should go find him." Ashimi grunted and shook her head, her face still buried in her arms. 

"What's wrong, my lady? Do you have a headache?" The green haired boy asked with exaggerated concern.

Ashimi straightened in her seat and held up the crescent moon shaped diamond-like data crystal. "Zero is here, but he... He's not like before, he has to stay this way for now..." Her sad expression spoke volumes and no one inquired further. She held the pokeball with her new pokemon and pushed it left and right from one hand to another on the table before her, lost in thought. She couldn't show up at the Indigo League carrying seven pokemon. The limit was removed for her during her travels, but she couldn't get away with that at the league. She considered sending Fearow to stay with Gary, since she was the newest addition to her team and had not been trained as much as the others. 

The silence was deafening, so much that Volt, who had been very quiet since they reached Viridian City, decided to speak. "I evolved Magneton," he told Ashimi, Dorme and Jonathan already knew about it. "They have a room here that can emulate the conditions of places like Mount Coronet, so I trained Magneton there and he evolved into Magnezone. He's like a flying saucer now, I can ride on him and everything."

"I've been doing lots of training too and my Pidgeotto is now a Pidgeot," Dorme proudly announced.

Ashimi suddenly jumped to her feet. A thought had hit her about how to clear her mind. "Johnny! Take this pokeball!" 

Jonathan blinked in surprise and accepted the pokeball. "What should I do with it?" He wondered what Ashimi's request would be, her sudden burst of energy had everyone staring at her in expectation.

"You should train her of course," Ashimi decided. 'Fearow shouldn't have to miss out on all the adventures just because I can't show up at the Indigo League with seven pokemon. Gary would have taken good care of her, but it might be more fun this way.'

Jonathan nodded, confused, "train her, right, and what else?"

"Fly with her," Ashimi continued.

"Fly, got it, so she's a flying type, um, what kind of pokemon is in here exactly?" Jonathan finally asked, not sure if it would turn out to be too large to release in the crowded cafeteria.

"A Fearow, I just had a great idea thanks to Volt, we should go fly, it'll make everyone feel better!" Ashimi announced.

"Fly?" Volt blinked in confusion, "how was that my id- oh, because I said Magnezone was big enough to ride on. I haven't actually tried to fly anywhere on him before, or hover."

"You gave him a pokemon..." The green haired boy pouted.

Jonathan took the opportunity as his cue to get back at him. "That's right, the princess gave me a pokemon," he imitated, "and it's so awesome!"

The green haired boy pouted, "mine's awesome too."

"They're both awesome, now let's go!" Ashimi ran off. 

Jonathan, Volt and Dorme soon followed, while the green haired boy continued to pout. "I don't have a flying type... unless..." He released Beedrill from her pokeball. "Beedrill, carry me!" He held on to her hind legs while the bee pokemon made an effort to gain altitude, though she could only keep her trainer a mere few feet off the ground.

xoxox xox xoxox

The wind blew past Ashimi rapidly as Chari enjoyed the freedom of the skies. It was something she had longed for since her days as a Charmander. She sped up, leaving the rest of the group far behind. Jonathan, Dorme and Volt had been trying to follow on Fearow, Pidgeot and Magnezone respectively. They stopped in mid air, giving up on the chase and settling for watching Chari's acrobatics across the open skies. A bolt of lightning rose from between the trees of the Viridian Forest below and struck Magnezone. The pokemon fought to remain stable and quickly move out of the way of another electric shot. Fearow and Pidgeot soon became alternative targets as the two birds and frying saucer tried desperately to get out of the line of fire. 

"Ashy! We're under attack!" Jonathan cautioned, though she was too focused on the flight to hear him. 

"There's the source, between those trees!" Volt pointed down below. The spot was where the lightning originated from the ground, but the foliage was too thick for them to see the identity of their attacker. 

"Who dares?" Dorme shouted.

Jonathan gave Ashimi one last glance before leading his Fearow downward. "Let's go find out."

Chari finished another of her air tricks and Ashimi couldn't contain her laughter. The rollercoaster feeling of the ride was exactly what she needed to clear her head. She looked around for her friends, just in time to see them disappear under the tree branches. "Where are they going so soon? Chari, let's follow them." The Charizard dove between the treetops and spotted the group in the forest grounds below.

Magnezone looked like he had received a lot of electric attacks while trying to land and the static that clung to Volt further proved it. The pokemon took most of the hit, trying to protect his trainer. Though he too was an electric type, the voltage was so great that it hurt even him, but at least he could still fly. Volt recalled Magnezone into his pokeball to rest for the time being and stepped forward. Left and right of him, Dorme and Jonathan still rode on their bird pokemon, as if unsure if they should stay or escape. 

Ashimi landed next to her friends and looked at the tall man standing across a portion of land in front of Volt. He was dressed in Team Rocket military gear, was very muscular and had short blond hair. The man removed his sunglasses, cold gray eyes scanning the area around him. "So we meet again, little brother," he grinned.

"Electro," Volt growled. "I demand a rematch!" He tried to push the nervousness out of his voice.

"Any time, little brother," General Electro agreed, "but you'll have to prove yourself first. I'll meet you at the forest maze." The man known as Thor, respected by many and feared by many more, disappeared into the thick forest. 

"The forest maze..." Dorme whispered. 

"I've heard about it," Ashimi recalled. "It's like an underground forest themed obstacle course below Viridian."

"Yes," Jonathan confirmed. "It's very advanced and only elite Rockets train there."

"The entrance isn't far, though not just anyone is allowed there," Volt began to walk. "I'm sure Electro has arranged for my passage. I have to go, I need to battle him."

"Right, let's all go to the forest maze!" Ashimi cheered. She hopped off Chari and recalled her. "Thanks for the ride, take a break, I might need to call you again soon." She took a few steps and noticed no one was moving, than backtracked again. "Since it's your battle, you should lead the expedition, Volt."

"You can't all come, it's dangerous and it's my fight!" Volt argued.

Ashimi shook her head. "I know it's your fight, we're your cheering squad."

"When was that decided?" Jonathan asked no one in particular.

"No idea, but I rather not cross Thor's path more than absolutely necessary," Dorme replied.

"Life is for the brave!" Ashimi insisted.

"There's no changing her mind when she gets like that," Jonathan sighed hopelessly. "Alright, let's go, looks like you got yourself a cheering squad after all, Volt."

"If Johnny's going, than I'm going too," Dorme decided.

"You're all crazy," Volt laughed and started on the way.

xoxox xox xoxox

The underground forest was dimly lit by the glow of crystal embedded into the cave walls. Metal arches could be seen half buried under the vegetation, indicating that the cave was made by humans. The trees' leaves were a translucent green as they fed on the glow of the crystals' simulated light rather than sunlight. The foliage appeared almost see-through, yet still thick and abundant, giving off the illusion that it was made of glass. Many of the mutated leaves covered the ground, making plastic-like crunching sounds as the trainers stepped. "We need to be quiet," Volt cautioned.

Dorme looked at the blanket of fallen leaves on the ground all around them. "That's impossible, unless we fly, but I heard that if you call out any pokemon out you'll be immediately attacked by the," a buzzing sounds could be heard deeper in, "Beedrills."

Ashimi felt odd without Pichu on her head, but the others had insisted that it was best to try to get as far in as possible without getting any attention from the Beedrills. She tried to reach out with her aura and her head snapped towards the ground a few feet away. "There!" She pointed.

"What is it?" Jonathan asked. There was nothing but a pile of leaves as far as he could tell. 

"Is there a trap under those leaves?" Volt inquired.

"If you really want to battle your brother, you should stand on that pile of leaves over there," Ashimi pointed.

The leaves looked the same as all the others. The semi-transparent leaves were mutated and took a long time to dissolve even after they fell from the trees. As a result there were knee deep in leaves. Though Volt didn't really understand, he curiously walked over to the pile of leaves. Before he could stand on it, the leaves were thrown in every direction as Electro stood. "You should have noticed me without that little aura user's help. You soldiers need a lot more training!"

Mention of extra training with Thor terrified Jonathan and Dorme, and frustrated Volt. "Either way, we found you, so let's battle!"

"You really want to lose that badly, little bro?" Electro released his pokemon with a boisterous laugh. Electivire emerged from the red beam of the pokeball. The pokemon seemed larger and more muscular than the average Electivire.

Volt had not faced that pokemon since he was Electabuzz and he looked a lot stronger now. Even so he tried not to lose hope, "Elekid go!"

"Electivire, thunder punch!" Electro confidently began.

"Watch out Elekid, counter with electro ball!" Elekid managed to dodge Electivire's punch. As if it didn't matter, Electivire punched the ground, leaves crunching under his powerful fist. The force of his electric attack send a shock wave rippling through the leaves that reached Elekid, Volt and the others.

"These leaves conduct energy? I thought there was something about this place," Ashimi voiced. "It makes sensing things easier, but ouch..."

"Major ouch!" Dorme loudly complained, while Jonathan cringed quietly. "Volt, be careful with the collateral damage!"

"I can't do anything about that!" Volt argued back. He didn't like the smug look on Electro's face and he could practically smell Dorme and Jonathan's fear at the sight of it. "Elekid, don't give up!" Elekid tried to defend himself. He managed to make the electro ball, but he paused before firing it. The buzzing of the Beedrill had gotten increasingly louder, closer and angrier since the battle began. An armored Beedrill buzzed out of the foliage above and dove at Volt. He dropped to the ground to dodge the initial swoop, but the Beedrill turned sharply towards him, metal covered stingers ready to strike. Elekid aimed his attack at the Beedrill to save his trainer. The Beedrill hardly seemed affected, his buzzing became ever louder and more armored Beedrill arrived.

Ashimi, Dorme and Jonathan had their hands full dodging the attacks, "we need our pokemon!" Jonathan considered the option that seemed most logical as a form of defense.

"Release them and I'll make sure you regret it!" Electro warned. "Don't be so weak, soldiers!"

Volt couldn't focus on the battle because of the Beedrill attack. Electro punched a Beedrill that dared to make him a target. "We have a battle going on, if you get distracted, you'll lose! Elecrivire shock wave, open up a path and use thunder punch!" Electrivire released massive waves of electricity into the area around him. The Beedrills that surrounded them had no choice but to temporarily back off.

"Watch out Elekid, he's coming!" Volt could hardly defend himself against the Beedrills, let alone guide Elekid. Elekid had wasted too much energy trying to keep the Beedrills away. He was hurt and exhausted, and couldn't dodge Electrivire's attack on time. Elekid was flung across the area and crashed harshly into a tree several feet away, he had already been knocked out from the instant the thunder punch hit him. "Elekid, return!" Volt recalled his pokemon to the safety of his pokeball away from the deadly armored Beedrills.

"You've lost, retreat and come back when you're stronger. If you stay here any longer, I will assume that you want me to be the one to train you," Electro threatened with a mocking grin.

"No way!" Since Dorme and Jonathan knew how stubborn and daring Ashimi was, they grabbed her by the arms and ran off with her. Predictably, Ashimi protested all the way and expressed that she did actually want to try the training offered by the infamous general Thor.

Volt glared back at his brother and quickly left as well. "I'll train on my own and will beat you one day soon!"

xoxox xox xoxox

Out of the underground forest, Jonathan and Dorme finally released the pouting Ashimi. "Maybe his training would have been useful." Her friends could only look at her as if she had said something utterly unreasonable and completely crazy. Ashimi sighed hopelessly. "Let's just call it a day for now. Tomorrow I have to train hard and prepare for my earth badge battle.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi, Volt, Jonathan and Dorme spent the next few days training. Volt only had a temporary Rocket ID which he was able to obtain only because of his father and brother, but to access more training areas he fully joined. His reasoning was that if he wanted Team Rocket to change for the better, he had to be a part of it, it was also Ashimi's logic though she had not been as hard to convince.

The day finally arrived for Ashimi to try to win an earth badge. She stood at the Viridian gym arena on the opposite side of Giovanni, ready to give it her all. "Three pokemon," Giovanni announced, his two Persian sitting beside him. "I'll start with one you're familiar with, Persian."

Ashimi looked at her grandfather's Persian. She had heard many stories about his past battles, but the pokemon had become rather lazy over the years. "Persian?" She asked unsure.

Persian yawned, not really in the mood to fight, but lazily began to make his way off the platform, until Giovanni stopped him. "Not you, the girl." He motioned for the female Persian to go instead. Unlike her beloved, she was still as feisty as ever. Though she had the normal coloring of a Persian, the ruby on her forehead protruded like a horn. She gracefully jumped off the platform and landed quietly, like a skilled hunter stalking her prey.

Ashimi knew she was in for quite a fight. She was planning to save Chari for last. She considered her options and decided to start with Pichu. "Pichu, I choose you!" The little yellow pokemon jumped off her head and took to the arena. Wasting no time, Ashimi began the offensive. "Thunderbolt!"

Purry dodged easily, not even waiting for a command, she kept on the move with a quick attack. "Don't stop, Pichu!" The electric mouse continued trying to stop the feline's advance, but she moved too fast. As she got closer, moving in an erratic pattern, Ashimi knew it was time for a change of tactics. Pichu wouldn't be able to dodge Purry's amazing speed, but he could come up with a very strong defense. "Surround yourself in electricity!"

"Chuuuu!!!" Pichu released a massive amount of electricity in the area all around him. In theory, it should hit Purry regardless of what direction she came from.

"Thunder horn..." Giovanni finally gave another command, though it wasn't one Ashimi was familiar with. Purry's horn glowed with the power of her own electricity. Pichu's electricity gravitated towards it and spun around Purry, forming into a large ball. "Electro ball!" Purry shot the ball of electricity at Pichu.

"Dodge it, Pichu!" Pichu gave up on the attack and scrambled to get out of the way, but Purry used another thunderbolt to redirect the electro ball towards the target. Pichu was shocked by the electro ball full force, at the same time Purry shot another charge of electricity at it and the electro ball exploded. Pichu was thrown several feet back. "C'mon Pichu, get up!" Pichu slowly tried to get back on his feet, but he was slammed hard against the floor when Purry pounced on him. Her horn was an inch away from Pichu's throat and the small yellow pokemon was immobilized. "Pichu!"

"Iron tail," Giovanni had enough of what he considered to be a rather anti-climatic battle. Purry jumped and Pichu desperately tried to escape, but her tail connected with its target and sent him flying.

Pichu fell at Ashimi's feet knocked out cold. "Pichu... return..." Ashimi decided to send out Chari out next, she was her strongest pokemon after all. However, Giovanni was already exiting the trainer's platform. "Wasn't it three on three?"

"That was disappointing, I don't need to see any more," Giovanni exited the trainer's platform, followed by his Persian, the female Persian went off with him as well.

"I can turn this around!" Ashimi argued. "It's not over! I still have two pokemon left!"

"If you have to struggle, you're not strong enough," Giovanni walked away.

'I expected high standards, but...' Ashimi refused to give up. This wasn't the first time the odds were against her. "I'll become stronger! In fact, I'll go ask Thor for training, I heard he's really tough."

Giovanni grinned almost imperceptibly, "do it if you think you can take it, but general Electro, or Thor as he is known, trains people more so than pokemon."

"Some difference," Ashimi insisted. "If I get stronger I'll make my pokemon stronger!"

"We'll see..." Giovanni left with his two Persian, an ominous atmosphere remaining after his presence.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 25: The title of this chapter "At the Gala" is a reference to My Little Pony. 

Chapter 26: Tatsumaki means tornado in Japanese.

xoxox xox xoxox

Characters

General Electro alias Thor: Surge's eldest son and Volt's brother. He's 22 years old, tall, muscular, has blond hair and gray eyes. He is often seen wearing Team Rocket military gear. He is feared and respected in Team Rocket and most of the younger Rockets whom he trained are terrified of him. He is very stern with his troops, albeit he is truly talented in polishing their abilities, most simply remember him as being mean and overly critical. Electro only has two fears: angering Surge or Giovanni. Giovanni is easy to explain given all the power he commands, though in Surge's case it's not just about power, but something deeper that not even Electro can explain.


	10. Chapter 10

Awakening

Chapter 28: The Rocket League: Spring Forward

Ashimi, Dorme, Jonathan and Volt met up in front of the lockers. They could hardly believe it, but they had the hard task of facing Thor's training and in the end decided to stick together no matter what. "Cheer up everyone! I even brought victory cookies to eat after we conquer this training course, we'll be done in no time."

"Lets not forget that most people fail and the penalty training lasts a whole week," Jonathan reminded.

"And the penalty-penalty training for failing the week long training lasts a month," Dorme added.

Ashimi huffed, "it's like there's a big gloomy cloud over your heads." She glanced at Volt, he was worse off, since he couldn't even muster the energy to speak. "C'mon guys, just think of the victory cookies!" Ashimi tried to cheer them up. "Look, they're Skitty shaped and have pink frosting!"

Volt sighed, feeling the obligation to say something. He was the one who was determined to challenge the infamous General Electro and despite their fears Jonathan and Dorme were standing by him. Ashimi was too, but she didn't know what she was getting into as far as her friends could tell, yet none the less she was bravely marching into the unknown. "So, why Skitty?" Volt curiously inquired for the sake of making small talk that would hopefully lower the tensions in the atmosphere.

"Grandma got a baby Skitty, so she was inspired to make the cookies. She's super cute, we should go see her later. I bet Nya would like to play with her. She likes to swim too, I guess maybe because her father is a water type," Ashimi explained.

"What pokemon is her dad?" Jonathan asked out of curiosity.

"Wailord," Ashimi replied, and a great shocked silence fell over the group.

Finally, Dorme willed herself to speak, "I bet they're cute together." Following her lead, the area was filled with sounds of agreement and random little comments. Then the boys and girls went their separate ways to their respective lockers.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi looked at the tiny bag with a deadly glare. She willed it to defy the laws of physics and contain items the total size of which exceeded the space within it. The bag refused to cooperate.

"Give it up, you're never going to make enough room in there for everything," Dorme sighed hopelessly. She stood at the entrance to the girls' lockers and tapped her foot impatiently. She too had been provided with a small bag that could be worn around the waist and told that she could only bring the supplies that fit within.

Aside from the bag, the only other items the young Rockets would be allowed to take to the training, were their pokeballs and the clothes on their backs. Pokemon were to be released only on certain areas of the obstacle course and unauthorized use of pokemon meant an instant failure. The uniforms were standard for low ranked Rocket grunts, the fabric was durable, though not particularly soft. They didn't have the varying styles that allowed some degree of a personalization, nor were the male and female clothes noticeably different in style. The uniforms were made with the knowledge that they would receive a lot of punishment along with the unfortunate Rockets within them.

Ashimi finally gave up, stuffed most of her things back into the locker and closed it. She put the bag around her waist with a few choice items and left a plastic bag full of cookies out. "Let's just eat these now."

"Good idea," Dorme agreed. Before they exited the locker rooms, she stopped Ashimi with an unsure look in her eyes, then finally asked. "You know how a Wailord and Skitty... um... breed?" The truth was that Dorme didn't know how it could work given their different sizes. She could ask Laiki, since logically, a pokemon doctor should know, but she didn't want to trigger an anecdote inspired too much information speech about human breeding.

Ashimi had to pause and think about it. The difference in the pokemon sizes only vaguely registered in the back of her mind before. She didn't want to sound ignorant or childish by not knowing, so instead she laughed. "Of course I know, I mean I'm old enough to be a pokemon trainer, so I'm old enough to know what frolic actually means."

Dorme laughed too, as if she had been joking the entire time. It was just a random curiosity and if it made her appear as ignorant, then she would just keep it to herself. "Ha ha ho ha ha! Of course, how silly of me to think you wouldn't know!" Both girls made an unsure pause before laughing together again. As they were each focused on making her own laughter sound somewhat believable, neither noticed or questioned the awkwardness of the other's laughter.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Volt were also done getting ready for the training. Volt paused for a moment and shifted unsure, until finally his curiosity got the better of him. "Johnny... Just a random question... Think nothing of it... I was just curious... Not that I really need to know..."

It was obvious that Volt was unsure about asking something. Jonathan was tempted to sarcastically inquire that if he didn't need to know why was he trying to ask in the first place? But it seemed that Volt was feeling uncomfortable enough and the tension between him and Electro was high, so maybe this wasn't the most appropriate time for sarcasm. "What is it?"

"Since your parents run a day care center, which I know is a Rocket trading spot, but also actually works as a pokemon day care..." Volt stopped himself from rambling and moved forward. "Anyway, I thought you might know... How is it possible for a Skitty and Wailord to breed?"

"Oh, that's easy," Jonathan replied as if the question wasn't odd at all. "It's because they're both in the field egg group," he answered in a matter of fact tone.

"Well yes, I know that..." Volt inquired further, "but... I mean... Their sizes are..."

"We've never had a Wailord at the day care, Skitty yeah, but not Wailord. They've been traded, but a Wailord has never been out of the pokeball," Jonathan admitted. "In other words, the subject never came up before now and I have no idea."

"Oh well, I guess I don't feel so bad for not knowing." Volt nodded to himself and exited the boys' lockers, followed by Jonathan. They met up with the girls and the four of them ate the cookies before going off to report to Thor.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, at Cerulean City... Ash grinned at his creation. He carefully balanced the sandwich he had so carefully built and made his way out of the kitchen. He sat down next to Misty at the living room where she held a wireless tablet pc on her lap, checking emails. She glanced at Ash as he opened his mouth impossibly wide and tried to flatten the overloaded sandwich enough to take a bite out of it. Mission accomplished and mouth full, Ash returned Misty's gaze in time to see her roll her eyes.

Misty held up the screen for him to see. "Delia just sent pictures of her new baby Skitty, isn't she cute?" Ash nodded, his mouth still too full to give a verbal reply that was even remotely intelligible. Misty continued, "she hatched a few days ago. Aw, look at this picture." The Skitty was depicted in the image in a little tub surrounded by water toys and appeared to be amused. "She likes to splash around and really enjoys bath time. Her father is a water type..." Misty grew silent and read over the lines again, until she finally finished, "Wailord." She blinked as the pokemon egg groups information surfaced into her memories and she recalled that those two did indeed share an egg group. "How does that even work, with the size difference and all."

By then Ash had swallowed and was able to speak normally. "I asked my father the same question once," he recalled.

Suddenly curious, more so for the story than for the actual answer, Misty asked, "what did he say?"

"He said mom had asked him the same thing years ago," Ash recalled.

xoxox xox xoxox

Several years ago, before Ashimi was born. Ash and Giovanni were just getting used to being around each other after they had found out the truth about their father-son relationship. Delia often encouraged them to spend time together and talk whenever their busy schedules as Rocket boss and pokemon master allowed. Ash didn't remember how the topic came up, but he ended up asking about how it was possible for a Skitty and a Wailord to breed.

"In the same basic way that all living creatures breed, I would assume," Giovanni had replied as a matter of fact.

"But the size..." Ash insisted with curiosity.

"Your mother asked about that years ago," Giovanni recalled. "It was soon after I became the Viridian gym leader and things stabilized enough with Team Rocket for her to make some time to pick up her studies again. We ended up doing research together."

Giovanni grinned in a rather mischievous way, though Ash didn't seem to notice as he inquired. "What kind of research?"

After a pause during which Giovanni seemed to be considering his words, he finally replied, "extensive research."

The answer was more than a little vague, but Ash thought nothing of it and assumed it meant a lot of reading. "What was the result of the research?"

The Rocket leader's reply was simple and to the point, yet completely unexpected coming from him, "you."

xoxox xox xoxox

By that point in Ash's story, Misty was laughing out loud. "It went completely over my head at first," Ash admitted between laughs. "He seemed so serious that I didn't expect him to say something like that, but then when I finally understood and my face turned red, we ended up getting a good laugh out of it... or mostly he laughed at how red I turned. Although, I never did get a real answer..." Perhaps some research was in order.

xoxox xox xoxox

Later, Ashimi, Jonathan, Volt and Dorme arrived at a Rocket training facility via underground bullet train. Hidden among the mountains north of Kanto, they were to face a large obstacle course divided into four stages. Each stage was themed after a season and had been artificially enhanced to match it. They began in the spring area. The place was a vast grassy field with a few flowers scattered here and there, that looked all too easy to cross. "There have to be traps set up here,". Volt spoke with all certainty. Everyone agreed with him.

Ashimi reached out with her aura and felt something was off underground, yet what was buried was so well hidden that it was hard to sense it clearly. "There's definitely something underground, some kind of land mines if I had to take a guess. Zubat would probably be able to guide us through here, or we could just fly over the whole place, if we could use pokemon that is."

"Which we can't..." Dorme reminded. She looked across the deceivingly harmless looking field. "I guess you'll have to be our radar, Ashimi."

"Okay, here goes..." Ashimi started to move forward at a slow a measured pace. She could only feel the mines when she was close to them and the images in her mind were not at all detailed.

They were a good distance into the field when a man in a Team Rocket uniform arrived. It wasn't the standard uniform, but a modified version to look like something a professional runner would wear in a race. He had spiky green hair with a row of blue spikes in the middle, his eyes were a bright gold. A Sceptile walked beside him, looking on at the trainers as unworthy prey. "Taking it slow and easy, aren't you? That's boring, so I'm here to change it. You can call me Spring. Now lets try something a little different, take a walk around, Sceptile!" The grass pokemon dashed in a series of precise jumps around the group and set off several mines.

Ashimi, Jonathan, Volt and Dorme hurried to dodge, trying to follow Ashimi's movements. Her eyes suddenly went wide in realization. "They're moving! The mines are moving around underground!" They were caught in an explosion that threw them several feet back. Ticking was heard muffled in the ground as a different kind of mine was set off at their landing. They hurried to get out of the way, looking for a safe place to stand before the countdown concluded.

"I'll be waiting for you across the field among those trees over there," Spring pointed at the area. "I'll only wait for thirty seconds, at least one of you should make it there. Don't be late or you lose. Don't forget, no pokemon!" Sceptile continued setting off more mines and attacking with leaf storm.

"We have to get there fast! Soldiers, we need a diversion!" Volt urged. "There's no time!"

"Calm down, Volt! The clock hasn't even started yet!" Ashimi pointed out.

"Oh, you're right, we can do this!" Volt realized.

"Yeah, I guess I should go over to the agreed upon spot." Spring began to run at an incredible speed.

"There's no way we'll catch him even without Sceptile to get in the way." Dorme grimaced.

"He said no pokemon, he didn't say we couldn't attack!" Ashimi argued.

"Slowing him down sounds useful, if he reaches the trees the countdown begins, but how can we slow him down if we can't even get close to him?" Volt tried to think of a strategy that might work, but everything that came to mind required beforehand planning that they weren't given the chance to do. If only he had units strategically placed in the field like in a game of Battle Zone, this would actually be pretty easy.

"I have an idea!" Jonathan knew that it was a bit crazy, but it was all he could come up with. "Ashy, where's one of the mines?"

"Straight ahead, next to that yellow flower!" Ashimi pointed.

"I'm going, cover me!" Jonathan dashed forward, while the others tried to shield him from Sceptile's attacks.

"He's not doing what I hope he's not doing, is he?" Dorme asked in worry, as another multitude of sharp leaves assaulted her.

"I think he is," Ashimi admitted. "He should be fine, blasting off like a Rocket is in his blood."

Jonathan purposely set off the mine by jumping on it. It exploded and propelled him across the field with great speed. He tackled Spring to the ground right before he could reach the cluster of trees and halted the runner's progress. "You've got some guts taking the hit from the explosion and challenging me directly!" Spring defended himself, but Jonathan was determined not to let him get any closer to his target.

"That's it soldier, halt the enemy advance!" Volt cheered.

"Dorme, get Sceptile!" Ashimi called out.

"You better have a good plan!" Dorme rushed towards Sceptile, dodging most of the leaves he threw at her and went on the attack with great agility and speedy reflexes.

"Volt!" Ashimi approached the blond boy and whispered something to him, pointing out several locations, then joined Dorme in keeping Sceptile busy.

Volt began to dig in the places that Ashimi had indicated. Thankfully, he was focused enough to remember all the locations and speedily progress through them. He carefully removed each mine without setting them off and began to collect them away from Sceptile's reach. Jonathan was fighting with Spring, and though the racer had long thin limbs, it was clear that he was well trained and quite strong, 

"I have them!" Volt announced. Jonathan backed away from Spring at Volt's signal and made a run for it.

Spring tried to stop him, but was hit by one of the mines, he didn't expect Volt to be able to throw that far. 'He is Electro's brother, I should have known. Jessie and James' kid is no one to mess with either and those girls seem to be standing up to Sceptile alright. They've managed to use the field to their advantage, but I can't let them win!' Spring hurried to the spot near the trees. If he stayed there for thirty seconds, then they would lose the challenge.

Volt tried to throw a mine at Sceptile, but the speedy pokemon dodged easily. A chain reaction was set off, leaving Ashimi and Dorme to struggle to get out of the way of the blasts. "Even if we do hit him, one mine won't be enough!"

Spring was about to reach the designated area when Ashimi called out to Jonathan. "Two feet to your right!" She gave a quick estimation.

Jonathan stomped on the spot as Spring got closer and they were both sent blasting off several feet back. "Crazy kids!" Spring growled, though he actually sounded amused.

"I'll hold him, throw everything at him all at once!" Ashimi rushed towards Sceptile and held on to him, protecting herself with the aura as best she could.

"This is crazy!" Volt gathered up the mines despite his protests. "But I guess I have no choice but to trust you!" He rapidly threw them towards Sceptile and Ashimi. All the mines hitting them together magnified the force of the hit, creating a huge explosion. Dirt and pebbles flew everywhere as a big cloud of dust was lifted.

"Woah!" Spring gasped. "Giovanni told me not to go easy on his granddaughter, but I didn't think it would be one of her own teammates that sent her to the emergency room!" Withstanding one mine at a time was painful, yet possible. Taking the full force of such a massive attack was not something to be done without injury.

The dust began to settle to reveal Sceptile, hurt and unconscious. "The only one going to the emergency room is your Sceptile... And maybe you'll end up there too!" Standing next to the fainted grass pokemon was a victorious Ashimi, protected by the glow of her aura. She was still beaten and scratched, but she had no serious injuries and was trying her best to look fierce and threatening.

"You're all real tough cookies, I can't deny that," Spring laughed and recalled Sceptile back into his pokeball. "But this isn't over yet!"

Spring hurried to the area with the trees where Jonathan was already waiting. "Took you long enough to get here."

"So you managed to accomplish the challenge, but the one I want to battle is little miss invincible over there. Let's see if she has the legendary power of the Rocketto!" Spring called out another pokemon. "Serperior! Ashimi, you have permission to call out one pokemon, but I should warn you, you will not be allowed to call upon that same pokemon for the rest of the training, so choose wisely."

Ashimi considered her options. Chari had the type advantage against Serperior, but she might need her later, especially if she needed to fly anywhere, that or climbing could make the difference between victory and defeat later on. None the less, she needed a strong pokemon to get her through this battle. Someone agile, speedy and powerful who could put up a fight and make good use of the battle field. Ashimi picked out a pokeball. "Pichu, I choose you!" Pichu eagerly emerged from his pokeball to face Serperior. "Thunderbolt, on the target and at three o' clock!"

"Serperior, dodge then use leaf tornado!" As he gave the command, Spring pulled out a cell phone-like device and rang his fingers swiftly over the touch screen. Serperior dodged without worries then went on the attack.

"You deactivated the mines and you can activate them again," Ashkmi realized. Trying to trigger them to her advantage wouldn't work so easily now. None the less she grinned, "not that it makes a difference, I'll hit you with the mines anyway, dig Pichu!"

"With a move like that you can dodge the leaves but..." Spring didn't finish. He could blow things up any time he wanted. Knowing that, why would Ashimi make such an obviously bad choice unless it was actually deceivingly good.

Pichu emerged from the ground and tossed a mine at Serperior. He used his electricity to activate the mine though Serperior was quick to dodge. Dust flew in every direction, covering the battle field in a thick cloud. "Pichu, hit the mines hard, thunder!" Ashimi gave a quick series of directions, while Serperior stepped back.

"That... That was too straight forward, what was your plan if I detonated the mine and what on the world are you doing now?!" Spring wondered in confusion.

"I knew you wouldn't detonate that mind because of the flow of your energy," Ashimi admitted. "You were too guarded, too unwilling to take chances, so I took one. As for now..." The dust settled to reveal that not a single one of Pichu's thunder attacks had hit Serperior. The grass pokemon kept his tail half dug into the ground so it wouldn't have been effective anyway. "Magnet rise!" Pichu's electricity spread in every direction. Instead of using it to levitate, he lifted up the mines that his thunder attacks had helped dig up and threw them at Serperior, activating them by overloading them with his electricity.

"Leaf tornado!" Spring called out in a hurry, Serperior couldn't possibly dodge so many mines flying at him. The best thing he could do was try to use his leaves to surround himself and create a defensive shield.

When the series of explosions finally ended, Serperior was hurt but he still stood. Pichu was breathing heavily, tired from the great exertion. "Interesting, you can't read minds, but you can certainly read emotions. I guess I shouldn't have been so impressed, that could have been my downfall. Good thing Serperior is strong enough to withstand all that, but Pichu is an inch away from fainting."

"Every bit of progress counts," Ashimi insisted. "At least you can't use the mines against Pichu, so now we only have one obstacle left.

"And no way to defeat it!" Spring went on the offensive again. "Vine whip!"

"Go underground!" Ashimi knew that Pichu couldn't attack with electricity again in his current condition. "Find steady ground like the one I'm standing on and take a break."

"Slam the ground until it all caves in!" Spring ordered. Serperior began a series of strong slam attacks. The ground was already damaged from the thunder and explosions, and was soon filled with craters. "Where is that Pichu?" Spring gave Ashimi's words some extra thought and grinned. "He's under the ground she stands on, attack her with giga drain!"

Jonathan, Dorme and Volt gasped in shock. "Ashy, watch out!" Jonathan cautioned.

"He's really attacking her," Dorme whispered in disbelief.

"She can't take it," Volt realized. "Ashimi, you have to stop this!"

"That obvious, is it?" Ashimi fell to her knees and struggled to stay awake. She simply didn't have the strength or energy left in her to dodge or resist. She felt her aura leaving her and her earrings vibrated and became hot. The light cracks on them became more noticeable with each passing second. She didn't know why Spring kept overestimating her, was it because she could use aura, or because she was Giovanni's granddaughter?

"Pichu, thank you for your patience, now use your lightning laser!" Pichu emerged from the ground and jumped on Serperior, shooting a concentrated electric attack at point blank. Serperior flailed widely as if in great pain and released Ashimi, who collapsed, barely able to keep her eyes open. "Don't interfere," she knew how hard it was for her friends to hold back and she was thankful for their concern.

Pichu was at his limit, he wouldn't be able to further struggle with his electricity if his life depended on it. Physical attacks were all he had left, despite his exhaustion and small size. He bit, his scratched and did all he could in desperation. "Run, Pichu..." Ashimi whispered in a barely audible voice. Pichu hurried to get away as Serperior tried to recover.

"That move... How ruthless, but a Pichu can't possibly do it right! Serperior, on the attack!" Spring commanded. Serperior tried to chase after Pichu, but his movements were sluggish. "Serperior? Don't exert yourself, wait a bit."

'What is he doing? Why is he throwing away his opportunity, unless he had a plan? No, I won't fall for the same trick as Spring.' "Pichu!" Pichu went on the attack again, he was tired, but enjoying the battle. He wished for nothing more than to battle by Ashimi's side always. Though they had a way to go before they could stand a chance against Giovanni, he knew that if they kept training, they would eventually win. Ashimi's confidence and determination never wavered and neither would Pichu's.

A bright golden glow surrounded Pichu. Serperior managed to throw him off, but the electric pokemon felt no pain, he was too deep in the bliss of evolution. "Pikachu!"

Spring stared wide eyed at the evolved pokemon. "Not risking it... Serperior, return!" Spring called the pokemon back into his pokeball. The Rocket elite four were all different from each other and Spring was said to be the one who cared about his pokemon the most. He was also said to be daring and confident, as if he knew with full certainty that nothing could go wrong, yet this time he had been very cautious.

Ashimi watched on in surprise. "It's... it's over? Pichu... Pikachu!" Her newly evolved Pikachu ran to her. "You're awesome!" She hugged him. Then she looked at Spring, "why did you retreat? You could have continued putting up a fight."

"You're obviously exhausted, your aura wouldn't have worked in that state. Maybe I did overestimate your current capabilities, but you certainly have potential. The reason why I was so guarded it because I have a special sense," Spring revealed. "It's not as developed as your aura and it's not enough to call myself a psychic either, but I can feel it. When I was younger, back when I was only known as Solan, I went into a place known as the Giant Chasm in Unova, looking for a challenge with Servine. We found an Absol who had been injured and helped him. Later, after my team was exhausted from battling and I was trying to retreat, I got into an accident and the Absol ended up saving me... at the cost of his own life."

"I passed out and woke up at a pokemon center," Spring continued. "The local Joy told me I walked in like a zombie and collapsed at the front counter, but I don't remember ever leaving the Giant Chasm. Ever since that day I've been able to sense disasters. This may sound crazy, but I think Absol's spirit fused with my own. Your Pichu was close to evolution. No matter what I did, I'm sure you would have ended up with a Pikachu. That was the disaster I felt, I saw your abilities and thought you would do something, but I should have been guarding against your pokemon, not that it would do much with how close he is to mastering that move."

"I don't understand," Ashimi admitted in confusion.

Spring laughed, "Just make sure to use that power properly. I'm sure you'll be hearing from someone connected to the tech department when they find out you have a Pikachu now."

Ashimi still looked confused, though she didn't inquire any further. Her head was pounding and she felt too dizzy to process any information anyway. With the battle over, her friends had helped her to her feet among congratulations. She had used too much energy and wasn't very steady.

Spring gave her a green rocket shaped badge with a little red R on it. "Take this badge as proof that you've completed my challenge. I should warn you, it'll only get harder from this point on. Since you can only use each pokemon once, you won't be able to call upon your Pikachu for the rest of the training. You may move on to Summer's challenge now." He paused and looked into Ashimi's eyes. "Not malicious at all, you really are unaware of it..." He whispered in a barely audible voice. Speaking normally, he continued, "you'd best be on your way now." Spring ran a short distance away and released Serperior. The last thing Ashimi heard before her headache made her tune the world out, was something along the lines of Spring being glad that the 'rhythm' was back to normal and that Serperior would be alright. Ashimi didn't know what that meant.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 29: The Rocket League: Hot Fury

Volt, Dorme, Jonathan and Ashimi moved on to the summer training course. Spring's words left Ashimi with a worrisome sour feeling that wouldn't leave her mind as soon as her headache retreated enough to make room for thoughts. He had thought she would bring disaster, then thought it was her Pikachu who would. He didn't sound like the disaster would be something as relatively simple as defeat. He made it out to be something much worse that merited great caution and was worth a loss to avoid. Yet he was a high ranked Rocket, what was bad enough to worry him so much? What could he sense that she remained unaware of?

"Ashimi, are you listening, soldier?" Volt's voice got Ashimi out of her thoughts and her lost expression made it clear that she had not been listening. "I suppose you've worked more than your fair share, but you still can't lower your guard. Try to hang back a bit until you recover, leave the next challenge to us."

Normally, Ashimi would protest and insist that she was fine and didn't want to miss out, but this time she was simply too tired and only nodded at Volt. "Ashy..." She looked at Jonathan, not liking his worried expression one bit. "Aquamarine's pearls are breaking."

Ashimi ran her fingers over the once smooth surface of her earrings, that was now deeply cracked. She felt that she shouldn't risk removing them even for a second to take a good look at them. "They still work, I'll just have to be careful not to damage them more." She smiled and tried to reassure her friends.

They made it into the summer training area and Dorme was quick to express her discomfort. The heat reminded her of summer training with Thor and put her in a bad mood. "I didn't expect us to face the elite four of the Rocket League, but I was kind of glad Thor wouldn't be training us directly all the way. I should have known he would arrange a training course as bad as his own training would be!" She reached into her small bag and began to put on sunscreen on her face, as the rest of her body was covered by her uniform, even if it had become torn and dirty. "Here, it doesn't look like any of you came prepared."

"Thanks, the last thing I need is sunburn," Ashimi put on some sunscreen. The summer field was a vast desert as far as the eye could see. The heat was suffocating. "All this heat is making my headache get worse again."

"It smells like custap berries..." Volt frowned at the sunscreen bottle.

"Burn to ashes if it bothers you that much to smell like a girl!" Dorme huffed, she was clearly very cranky.

"It was just an observation," Volt quietly voiced and got a deadly glare in return.

Dorme had pulled out another bottle from her small bag, this one larger than the first, the contents being less thick and closer to liquid than cream. She began to spray the stuff all over her long blond hair, which was currently in a ponytail. "Ashimi, protect your hair too."

"Um... Okay," Ashimi didn't think hair could get damaged by the sun as easily as skin, and it certainly wouldn't be as painful. None the less, it wouldn't hurt to protect it too. Besides, Dorme sounded like she was giving an order and she would snap if it wasn't followed. After she was done, Ashimi passed the bottle to the boys, who eyed it wearily.

"I can understand the sunscreen, but is this really necessary?" Volt complained unsure. "This stuff has an even stronger scent than the sunscreen and it'll probably stick."

Dorme snatched the bottle from Volt and trapped Jonathan in a surprise headlock, spraying a generous amount onto his hair. "Stop it, Dorme, let go!" She didn't release him until she was done. "My hair smells so girly now," Jonathan complained.

"Quit whining!" Dorme snapped. "This is for your own good, you have really pretty hair and I will not stand to see it ruined!"

Jonathan had never seen Dorme look so deadly. He could only take a step back and whisper, "yes, ma'am."

"Volt!" Dorme barked. The Vermilion gym leader squeaked, quickly took the bottle and sprayed the protective liquid on his hair before Dorme decided to shove it down his throat. "That's better, now lets get this over with. I hate being sweaty." Dorme stomped away, mumbling a few choice curses under her breath with every step. Wisely deciding to remain quiet, Ashimi, Jonathan and Volt followed her.

The silence that overcame them only lasted for a little while. Ashimi had a zombie-like expression and she was muttering quietly as she walked. "You okay, Ashy?" Jonathan asked, but only got more zombie mutters in return. "I'll take that as a no."

"My head hurts and my thoughts are numb, I want a story," Ashimi whined. She puckered her lip and made her eyes as much like a sad Jigglypuff as she could.

"Your brain's really getting fried, I haven't heard you ask for a story since you turned seven and decided you wanted to be a tough pokemon trainer and refused to play princess and knight anymore. You didn't grow out of the habit of throwing shoes at me whenever I called you princess until three months later," Jonathan recalled.

Ashimi mumbled something unintelligible pouted and asked again. "Story please, sir Oni."

"She used too much energy and didn't have the chance to recover," Volt frowned. "This is dangerous."

"I can't imagine the fall area being this hot, we better get out of here fast. As for a story... How about we talk about the Rocket League?" Jonathan suggested. "It was formed recently as part of Team Rocket's public image. It's still in the making, but it will be officially open to the public soon. It will have several challenges like in the Orange League which will take place on one of Team Rocket's islands south of Cinnabar, with artificial climate control. The challenges won't be this hard, since they're for regular people."

It wasn't exactly as story, but the flow of information seemed to be making Ashimi focus a little more. "I heard that the elite four of the Rocket League were only nicknamed that because of the elite four of the Indigo League, but are actually not all Rocket elites," Volt added.

"That's true," Jonathan confirmed. "Most of the Rocket elites are off on top secret missions. Out of the four who are in the Rocket League, only Winter is an actual elite, the others are first class agents who can put on a good show when the time comes. They're talented pokemon trainers, but they still have a way to go to get to the real elite level. I heard Spring is going to be in a few athletic competitions on the side to promote the Rocket league when it goes public."

"Winter is a singer, isn't she?" Volt inquired.

"That's right, she used to be known as White Star for her white hair and great voice," Jonathan continued. "She'll be in charge of the Rocket league's operations."

Ashimi massaged her temples. Her head was still pounding, but she felt like she was recovering her clarity of mind. "Do you know anything about the other two?"

"I'm not sure who they picked to represent summer and fall," Jonathan admitted.

"I'm technically a Rocket newbie, I don't know either," Volt added. He looked over his troops and observed their state. Ashimi was somewhat there and somewhat not. She wasn't given the chance to recover and was struggling along. Dorme, Jonathan and Volt weren't as bad off, but they were all injured and starting to dehydrate. "We all fought hard from the start and don't have much energy left for the three areas we still need to go through. This training was designed to drain our energy and leave us unable to endure."

"Shut up!" Dorme suddenly shouted. "Shut up all of you! I've had enough of this desert!" She kicked the sand in anger. "Summer, get out here right now or I'll drag you out of whatever sad hole you're hiding in and rip you apart with my own hands!"

Suddenly, something emerged from beneath the sand. It was a boy with dark blond hair, tan skin and goggles. He wore a pretty standard Team Rocket uniform with the addition of a red bandana around his neck and was covered in sand from tunneling under it. He rode on a hover skate board, surfing the sands. "Well if it isn't my sweet Juliet calling out to me. Your Romeo has arrived!" He pulled up his goggles from over his eyes and placed them on his forehead. His eyes were a stunning red, sparkling mischievously like rubies.

Dorme stared in disbelief, "Monty... You're Summer?!" She screeched in indignation.

"That's right, my dear," Mont Blanc, alias Summer, grinned proudly. He was a first class Rocket agent and the youngest of the four of the Rocket League, at seventeen years old. Spring was the second youngest at nineteen.

Dorme tensed all over and glared daggers at him. "I will defeat you!" She declared full of fury.

Ashimi, Jonathan and Volt stood by, staring. Ashimi finally gathered her thoughts enough to speak, direct as ever. "Is there some kind of history between you two?"

"Yes!" Dorme growled. "Monty, or Summer as he's known now, is my rival. He defeated me in battle before, but I won't let it happen again, not twice in a row, never!"

"Don't forget you promised to go out with me if you lost the rematch!" Summer confidently reminded. "I admire your fire, Dorme, I'll show you we're perfect for each other!"

"Not interested!" Dorme growled. "Besides, I told you, the one I like is Johnny," she winked at him.

Summer glared in Jonathan's direction. He got off his hover skate board and walked over to the other boy, examining him with critical eyes. He paused as a peculiar scent reached his nose and sniffed. "Custap berries... Your hair is so glossy and it smells like custap berries. Dorme, how can you fall for a guy with such girly hair!"

"That's not my fault!" Jonathan tried to argue. Dorme had gone all out with the hair protection spray and put more on his hair than even on hers.

"You should learn from him!" Dorme interjected. "Johnny's hair is always soft and pretty, but yours is a sandy mess!"

"I'm not wearing girly hair products of my own free will!" Jonathan insisted on pointing out.

"You don't really need them, you've always had pretty hair," Ashimi voiced.

"Yeah, I thought it was kind of unusual for a guy to have such shiny hair," Volt agreed.

"That's not my fault, it's just the way my hair is," Jonathan pouted.

"You should learn from him too," Dorme pointed at Volt. "Your hair is always so frizzy and full of static. It's such an awful pity to see such a handsome boy neglect his hair in such a terrible way." Volt wasn't sure if he should feel flattered to be called handsome or ashamed of the harsh criticism directed at his hair. "At least it will hopefully not get any worse in this heat, but it could certainly use some repair products. Johnny's hair looks so soft, it makes me want to pet him."

"I will not be defeated by soft hair!" Summer declared. "Johnny of the soft and shiny hair, I challenge you to a pokemon battle! You are authorized to call out one pokemon."

"Will everyone just stop talking about my hair already?" Jonathan snapped. "You're making me want to cut it all off!"

Dorme gasped, then grabbed Johnny by the shirt and glared at him with killing intent. "Ruin your hair and I will ruin your life."

"Kidding, I was only kidding!" Jonathan quickly tried to excuse himself.

Dorme let him go, "it wasn't funny," her voice was dead serious.

"Let's just get this over with," Jonathan reached for a pokeball but Dorme stopped him.

"Don't you dare! Put that pokeball away this instant!" Dorme yelled.

Jonathan did so with a confused look. "I thought you wanted me to battle him."

"I refuse to let my man fight my battles for me. Summer, if you're fighting for me, you'll fight me directly!" Dorme challenged.

"Your man?" Summer questioned, "so it's official, is it? You two are dating?" Jonathan opened his mouth to speak, but Summer didn't let him get a word in. "When I win this battle you have to break up with him and go out with me! Go Typhlosion!"

"I won't lose!" Dorme made a surprising choice as she called out her pokemon. "Go Oddish!"

"You're kidding me..." Summer watched in surprise as the little grass pokemon emerged from the red beam of her pokeball. The small grass type was wearing a rhinestone circlet on her leaves and doing a cute little dance. "I see, so that's how it is. I knew you liked me and you were just being shy. It's obvious you intend to throw the match and go out with me."

Dorme did not humor him with a reply and instead reached into her small bag. She pulled out a pair of metal knuckles and a headband with a metal plate on the forehead with an R engraved on it. "Two out of three. You might have won once in the past, but the next two battles are mine. Oddish, bury yourself in the sand and prepare a poison powder and stun spore attack!" The small Oddish disappeared under the hot sand of the summer arena.

"Typhlosion, dig up that weed so my lovely flower can finally be by my side. Eruption!" Summer went on the attack. Typhlosion disappeared beneath the sand and a few short moments later Oddish scrambled out to the surface, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the blast of fire that sent her flying through the air covered in flames. Oddish rolled around, desperately trying to put out the flames. Her leaves had been completely consumed by the fire. "That was easy," Summer laughed.

"Fool..." Dorme glared, yet her confidence didn't waver.

Typhlosion didn't escape without a scratch. The fierce fire pokemon was trembling as he tried to overcome his paralysis and his face was slightly purple with the shadow of poisoning. "What? How? Oddish never got the chance to jump out and attack!"

"Oddish attacked underground, leaving her powder and spores to mix with the sand, and Typhlosion suffered their effects without realizing it until it was too late!" Dorme explained.

"It doesn't matter," Summer was still certain of his victory. "Typhlosion can still fight, but look at your Oddish, she's bald!"

Dorme responded with a threatening glare that assured Summer's demise against all odds. "Oddish, your circlet, let it fall." The grass pokemon shook her head to rid herself of the ornament. Without her leaves to hold the circlet in place, it fell off easily. "I wasn't going to take any chances, so I used the trick I had been saving for an emergency. Sorry Ashimi, I had planned to use this in a battle with you, but something came up." Oddish's body glowed brightly as she became Gloom. She recovered from her injuries because of the power from the evolution that had been held back by the everstone on her circlet for so long. "Flood this entire desert with the deadly rage of the sun, solar beam!"

"Dodge it, Typhlosion!" There was nowhere to go. The solar beams kept coming rapidly one after the other. "Bury yourself in the sand!" It was the only defense Summer could think of against the massive attack.

"It won't work! Gloom, have no mercy!" Dorme commanded. When Gloom's amazing attack finally stopped, Typhlosion lay unconscious in a crater. Ashimi, Jonathan and Volt all cheered for Dorme and Gloom's victory. "Type disadvantage aside, I knew nothing could stand against such a massive attack. Gloom has been due to evolve for a long time, this is the force that's been piling up waiting for that evolution."

"You... You almost break my heart, Dorme, almost." Summer smiled. "Typhlosion return! I guess this means we're at a draw. Your Gloom is looking tired, but still about to battle. That means you have Gloom and one more pokemon left you can use for the final round. I only have one, but you've used up your evolution trick. The pokemon that will bring me victory will be-"

"Stop!" Dorme interrupted before Summer could call out his pokemon. "The final round is for you and me. I'll defeat you myself."

"You want to fight? As in not have a pokemon battle, but actually fight?" Summer stared in disbelief.

"I've already decided," Dorme recalled Gloom into her pokeball. "Well done, my friend. I'll turn you into a beautiful Bellossom as soon as we're back in HQ. I'll take it from here. Monty, I will fight you, if you fight back or not that's your problem, but I'll show you you can't compete with Johnny's beautiful hair!"

"I can't believe the real reason behind her crush is my hair..." Jonathan sighed.

"If I had nicer hair... Would she like me best?" Volt mused aloud, not entirely aware that he was actually speaking the thoughts.

"I thought you had a crush on Ashy," Jonathan voiced before he could give his words some proper thought and stop himself.

Volt's jaw dropped and face turned red. "What?! How in the world do you know about that? I thought I took care not to drop any hints because I wasn't even sure about it myself!"

"Sounds like you're even less sure now," Jonathan observed, there was no use in holding back his observation any longer.

"That's why I didn't say anything... I've kind of liked Ashimi since she beat me at the gym, but ever since the time Dorme tried to kill me at the pokemon center when you got kidnapped, I've been seeing her in a new light," Volt confessed. "It was too confusing, so I just decided to forget about it and focus on preparing for my battle with Electro."

"For what it's worth... I didn't notice," Ashimi admitted, though on second thought she wasn't sure if it was a consolation or all the opposite.

"Volt too? Ha ha ho ha ha! I'm simply irresistible to have three boys after me!" Dorme laughed.

"I don't recall Johnny officially joining the race," Volt whispered under his breath.

"What was that?" Dorme growled.

"Nothing!" Volt backed away. "This is too complicated."

"I know, that's some square we're in..." Jonathan agreed.

"A love square? It's a pentagon, don't forget to include me!" Summer protested.

"I'm too young for this..." Volt sighed.

"It feels like I'll be too young till I'm thirty," Jonathan agreed.

"I'd rather not deal with this until I'm fifty," Volt added.

"Don't listen to them, Ashimi," Dorme interjected. "By the time they're eighteen or nineteen, they won't be able to stop thinking about girls and then our rivalry will be settled."

Ashimi shrugged, "I don't care about having a boyfriend, I just want to battle."

Dorme sighed hopelessly, "boys are so immature, and Ashimi too because she's such a tomboy."

"Ehem, I'm interested in girls," Summer winked.

"I'm interested in a fight!" Dorme rushed forward and threw a punch.

Summer dodged quickly. "Woah! You're really serious!" Dorme continued on the attack while Summer only dodged. He grabbed both her hands by the wrists and held her arms still. "You really need to reconsider. I was in top of my class on the July training session with Thor!"

"Thor..." Dorme growled the name as if it were something terribly offensive. "Do not mention that man!" She remembered all her harsh training sessions with the Rocket general, all the endless hours under the hot sun. She had to apply expensive hair treatments every night to make sure her beautiful golden locks didn't end up as dry as straw. The memories filled Dorme with a rush of unbearable anger. Her knee crashed into Summer's abdomen and left him breathless. He stumbled back and lost his grip on her wrists. She didn't waste the opportunity to break free and punch him in the face.

Summer felt a trickle of blood trail down his jaw and wiped it off with his sleeve. His expression became serious. "No more games. If you want me to prove my strength, then you'll have to show me what you can do too." Summer retreated onto his hover skate board and pulled a cellphone-like device out of his pocket. At his command, three more hover boards emerged from the desert sands. "Follow me if you can!" More things continued to emerge from the sand, forming a structure of poles and hoops. The poles held small black flags with little red Rs. Summer took off full speed on his hover board. "Don't forget to get as many flags as you can."

"No matter what, I will win!" Dorme jumped on another of the hover boards, but found the device too difficult to control as she gained altitude. She fell off with a frustrated yelp, but quickly picked herself up and tried again. She finally started to make some slow progress, reaching out to take one of the flags unsteadily. She moved forward to the next target, slowly getting the hang of balancing herself on the board. "Let's go, we can't let him win!"

Ashimi, Jonathan and Volt each got onto one of the hover boards. Ashimi was slowly adapting to the extreme heat and doing better than before, but she was still unable to call upon her aura. She couldn't use her abilities to gain extra balance, but she found that it wasn't really needed after all. "This isn't so hard, it's kind of like surfing!" Ashimi took off to collect flags along with Dorme.

"Unfortunately not everyone's a natural at surfing," Volt tried to balance himself on the board. "All I really know how to do in the water is swim."

"Me too," Jonathan admitted as he too tried to get the hang of balancing himself in the board. "It's not easy, but this floating skate board is pretty cool." The two boys went off to collect flags as well.

The way the course was set up, the poles electrified the flags until the sensors on the nearby hoops detected that someone had crossed them. Three sensors would have to be activated consecutively to allow the flags on each pole to be safely picked up. As the hops' arrangement became more difficult, the task of retrieving the flags turned harder, then the number of hoops increased to five at a time and it was very hard to get through them within the short time limit. Finally, the metal poles and hoops sunk back into the sand, signaling that the challenge was over.

Up ahead there was a circle of wooden poles sticking out of the sand as if marking the area of the summer area's final battle arena. Yet the arrangements were different and it wouldn't be a pokemon battle that would be fought there. "For the final challenge you need at least ten flags or you fail." Summer was standing on top of one of the wooden poles, holding his hover board.

Dorme looked at the three flags she held. She wasn't planning to stop though, she was too eager to pound Summer. "It's a bit harder than surfing after all," Ashimi handed Dorme the four flags she had managed to obtain. Her look was distant and a little lost.

"Ashimi, you're still not feeling well. You have to really rest," Dorme spoke with concern.

"I'm... Okay..." Ashimi dizzily swayed on her feet.

"Ashy, you better sit down for a while," Jonathan insisted. "Sorry I couldn't get more," he gave Dorme two flags.

"Same here, didn't mean to disappoint, soldier," Volt gave her another two flags.

"This makes eleven flags! Thank you everyone!" Dorme cheered. "I have the flags, now accept my challenge!"

"I accept," Summer agreed. "But as per the rules, only those who gather ten flags can challenge me to the final round and those who obtain no flags will suffer a penalty!"

"I only need ten, Ashimi, take the extra one," Dorme handed the flag to the other girl. "Could you guys..."

"It's okay," Jonathan assured.

"You don't even need to ask. Whatever the penalty is, we can take it," Volt added.

"I want to take the challenge too," Ashimi pouted stubbornly.

"Not now princess, we might need your help later, you have to recover," Jonathan argued.

Ashimi sighed, she knew they were right. "Alright, I'll sit this one out."

"Then it's settled," Summer agreed. "The two of you will go into these glass capsules." He activated the mechanism to make two glass cylinders, large enough to hold one person each, emerge from under the sand. "You will stay inside until the battle ends. It gets really hot in there and if you pass out it's game over for the whole team. Of course, it's going to be game over anyway, because I'm going to win!" He made a small pause and touched his broken lip. "By the way, if this is going to be fair hand to hand combat, would you mind taking off the knuckles?" Dorme wordlessly removed them along with the headband.

Jonathan and Volt stepped into the glass casings and they closed. They tried to put on brave faces but it was evident by how they were sweating that the heat was extremely uncomfortable. Dorme knew she couldn't allow them to dehydrate any further, they were all already bad off from being in the heat for so long. "I'll admit you have a lot of balance, agility and coordination, and you can most likely punch a lot harder than me... But there's no way you can kick half as hard!" Dorme didn't wait for Summer to get down from the wooden pole, instead she kicked it hard enough to break it.

"Woah!" Acting fast, Summer made use of his hover board to get to safety as the pole crashed down. "This pole must have been about to break..." Another of the poles was kicked down and Summer hurried to get out of the way. "No way..."

"You think that knee in the gut earlier was serious?" Dorme smiled darkly. "I wasn't even trying." She dashed forward, the texture of the sand not slowing her steps. She threw a spinning high kick that Summer was unable to dodge.

Summer blocked at the last second, but the impact was still hard. "Ow..." He stumbled back in shock. His right arm, which he had folded over his left in the split second block hurt a lot. 'I think something's fractured, another kick like that and it'll be broken for sure. If I were anything less than a first class Rocket agent, she probably would have broken both my arms with that one kick. Her punch was only hard because of the knuckles, how can her legs be so strong?'

Dorme glance at Jonathan and Volt, they looked like they were having a hard time holding on to their consciousness. "I will not put my friends at risk. Give up or I swear I'll snap your neck like one of those wooden poles."

Suddenly a realization surfaced in Summer's mind. "It was you..." He opened up the glass capsules and Jonathan and Volt hurried out, gasping heavily.

"You're just giving up?" Dorme gave Summer a suspicious look.

"I can't win your heart if I'm dead," Summer reasoned. "I'll back off for now and maybe try to work on my hair."

The situation was all too convenient and something about it bothered Dorme. "What did you mean when you said it was you?"

"Last year I was in Thor's July training," Summer explained. "He was scolding us about being too weak, like he always does. He said, and I quote, 'I had a Rocket in my June training that could knock your empty heads off your pathetic shoulders in a single kick!' He ended up giving us extra training because we apparently didn't measure up. Being in the Rocket League is part strength and part show business for when we go public. The challenges will be similar to the training course, but easier and safer so a few civilians can actually win. Overall, being a skate board champion will help promote the Rocket League."

"Thor always warns the Rockets he trains that their scores are for themselves and rather than comparing them and deciding what is good enough, we should all assume we got the lowest mark and strive to be better," Summer continued. "No one dares to defy him, so people don't normally reveal their training score at the end of the month. When I became Summer, our league leader, Winter, told me not to get overconfident because I was at the top of my class in Thor's training and not to forget that I was still second overall in the summer training sessions. With her rank it's no wonder she has access to that data. That's when I realized that the Rocket Thor mentioned from the June session had to be the one with the top score for the summer trainings. I always assumed it was one of the older boys, but Thor never mentioned that person's name, age or gender. It's you, isn't it? You're the one with the killer kicks and you're not kidding when you say you could decapitate me if you wanted."

"Me?" Dorme looked at the wooden poles she had broken herself. "I've never actually tried to decapitate anyone. I mean I wanted to break your bones if I could, but I didn't want to actually kill you. Besides, your theory was probably right. That killer kicker has to be one of the older boys from my session, though my guess as to who it could be is as good as yours. There's no way Thor would speak highly of me of use me or an example to be followed. He hates me, he always gave me penalty trainings even if I didn't do anything wrong. Every time I hear his name I can still remember hitting sacks of sand for hours with weights strapped on every limb. That man is pure evil! ... No offense, Volt."

"None taken, he's like that's with me too," Volt admitted.

"I agree, he's just as cruel to those of us stuck with the January training," Jonathan complained. "I can't even fully enjoy the December holidays thinking about what awaits in January."

"I used to think like that too," Summer admitted. "But maybe the reason why Thor pushes you all so hard is because he knows you can take it."

"That's ridiculous!" Dorme huffed. "He does it because he's heartless and wants everyone to fail his training so he can feel superior."

Summer knew he wasn't going to convince Dorme or Jonathan otherwise. Volt looked doubtful as if he was considering Summer's logic but wasn't quite convinced. Ashimi was the only one who seemed to be open to the possibility of Thor not being so bad. Summer left the topic at that and gave Dorme a badge. "I present you with the Summer Rocket badge and my heart."

"I'll take the badge, thanks," Dorme looked at her prize. The badge was also shaped like a Rocket, but it was orange, and it had a little red R.

"Gloom is out of the competition, since you can only use each pokemon once, even if they don't faint," Summer reminded. "You'd best leave the summer area quickly before you dehydrate any further. I have a nasty fracture to take care of... Best of luck."

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 30: The Rocket League: Fall Back

Brown leaves crunched under their feet as Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt entered the fall section of the training course. "This is a problem, soldiers," Volt held up his empty water bottle. The bottles were small to begin with, as they needed to fit into the tiny bags they were provided with. "We drank all our water and we still have two areas to go through. We also ate all our food, which was only tiny rations to begin with."

"We didn't have a choice," Dorme pointed out. "We were all hungry and thirsty, plus you and Johnny were all dehydrated, we all were really. Ugh, what I wouldn't give for a shower right now. We're all so filthy with dirt, sand and sweat, it's disgusting."

Johnny looked at the skies. The area was encased in a dome that changed the weather and temperature within, but beyond the tall glass casing there was the sun. "Looks like the sun is about to set."

Ashimi's stomach grumbled. "We haven't had a proper meal since breakfast."

"I don't think we'll be able to eat properly until we finish this whole challenge, unless we fail and that's not an option!" Volt declared.

"Absolutely not an option," Dorme agreed. "I don't want to get stuck with the penalty training."

"None of us do," Jonathan voiced. He eyed Ashimi wearily, as if waiting for her to say that maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She did get as far as opening her mouth to speak, but the eyes of her three companions on her told her they didn't want to hear it, so she closed it again.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, at the Viridian Rocket HQ, Pixel watched quietly as Comet examined the machine with curious doubt. They were underground in the laboratories, surrounded by grey metal walls. "Do you really think this will work?"

"I'm confident," Bastian assured. He was one of Team Rocket's greatest scientists despite his youth. He had grown up surrounded by research, since both his father, Ebastian, and grandfather Sebastian, were Rocket scientists. He had also studied under Binks' guide during his final years. "Essentially, by removing the natural limitations of human DNA, Dr. Binks hoped to create a human without those limitations, but other than being rather athletic, his creation wasn't any different from an ordinary human. Adaptable and strong, yes, but not to inhuman proportions. There was no threat to the body and no reason for it to change. That is until the natural aging process began and it was seen as a threat. Human limitations are meant to be overcome little by little as the body learns what to do with evolution. The removal of such limitations resulted in a rapid evolution the brain couldn't keep up with. In other words, if your brain can't figure out the new biology of your body, you'll go insane."

"But this won't be as simple as gathering some research documents and studying them," Comet noted.

"Of course," Bastian nodded. "We are able to breathe and process oxygen long before we know what a lung is or how the respiratory system works. Even if you study hard and learn every detail of your biology, your conscious mind won't have a say on involuntary reactions. That's why the regulatory processes of your new level of evolution need to be taught to your brain rather than your mind. They need to be engraved in your nature, instead of existing as memory data. That's what this is for, a machine made to teach pokemon certain types of special techniques that require more precision than an average technical machine. Many techniques can alternatively be taught by tutoring, but these are too complex to be learned by simply being stored in memories, they need to be connected to the unconscious instinct. I've prepared data based on the extensive tests you underwent. With this, your brain will no longer be confused as to what to do with your body. The present level of mutation will remain, but it will stop at that."

"I see..." Comet grinned, "let's do this." He stepped into the glass cylinder and became enclosed in it. He closed his eyes and waited.

Bastian typed a few things into the control panel attached to the machine. He could feel Pixel's eyes on the back of his head. Of course, no one actually felt people's stare. As a scientist, he observed that the feeling of being watched came from the data collected from the subtle changes in the atmosphere. A moving creature or object, however quiet, still displaced air molecules as it moved, still gave off energy, it still interacted with the world around it. It was enough to general sensory signals so subtle that they were easily missed and didn't not contain enough sensory data to be properly interpreted, yet that tiny signal was still there, that was the constant stare. She was very well adapted to her mechanical components, a very receptive subject to technology and to the slight genetic modifications needed to adapt to it. The scientist knew there was no room to make mistakes, if his theory failed, he would have to face her wrath. Now he knew how the scientists involved in the cyborg's upgrades felt. If anything ever failed for her, they would have to face Comet's wrath. Quite a unique pair those two.

xoxox xox xoxox

The light was becoming dim, though it was still possible to see clearly, albeit that would change as time went by. The landscape was already abundant in shades of orange, now more so with the passing of the evening over the territory. Volt held out a long twig he had picked up, testing the ground ahead of the group for any traps beneath the leaves.

Occasionally, a trap would snap the end of the shortening stick. Volt tossed the uselessly short stick aside and carefully picked up another one. He continued leading his companions in a single file. Another trap snatched the stick and pulled it up to dangle among the tree tops. Volt searched for another twig but didn't see any. Instead he carefully climbed a nearby tree and snapped off a thin branch. They're advance continued slowly, with the activation and fortunate evasion of several other traps, including sprays of poisonous gas, hidden knife-like thorns and pitfalls.

The group finally made it deep enough into the autumn forest to an area where wind currents burst from the ground at random intervals, pushing the leaves up to let them rain down again. Volt glanced at Ashimi questioningly, but she shook her head. She was doing better, but her aura senses had not fully recovered. At least she wasn't dizzy anymore, though they all suffered the discomfort of thirst and hunger. They were simply not allowed to bring sufficient supplies for the journey.

"You have arrived," a male voice was heard from the higher branches, sounding bored an uninterested. "I am Autumn."

"It took you a long time," a female voice added in a similar tone of bored indifference. "I am Fall."

Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt looked up at the source of the voices and saw a man and woman. They wore matching bored expressions on their matching faces. They were both rather thin and almost shapeless. "Which is which?" Ashimi whispered.

After a moment of silence, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt replied with a collective shrug. "It's easier to tell Celes and Rodes apart then those two," Volt admitted. "Though that might be because I'm their trainer."

"No, I agree, Celes and Rodes are easier to tell apart," Jonathan voiced.

The twins up in the trees both had bowl-cut brown hair and pale green eyes, their dull long faces lacking any marked traces of masculinity or femininity. "They're both twigs," Dorme shook her head.

"What are you muttering about?" Autumn inquired.

"The time has come for us to battle," Fall voiced.

"Are your pokemon trained well enough to make it through the maze?" Autumn jumped into a hole in the trunk of the tree he was on, followed by Fall.

Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt hurried to follow after them. Volt shined a flash light into the hollow trunk before jumping in and signaling for his companions to follow. He insisted that they didn't all go down at once without further investigation in case it was a trap. Underground they found themselves in a tiny room connected to various pipes. "One of you is to step forward and place these tracker chip stickers on two of your pokemon." Autumn explained.

"You will be able to follow their movements through here," Fall pointed to a large screen on the wall. The images on them looked like Pacman mazes. "All that is spoken in this room will be heard throughout the maze. If you have at least one conscious pokemon at the end of the battle, you will pass this round."

"Leave this to me!" Volt jumped forward. "I'm good at strategy games and mazes, Celes, Rodes!" He called out his two Electrode and placed the tracking chips on them.

"Dodo and Didi, come forth," Autumn's summoning would have been much more dramatic if he didn't have such an expressionless face and the pokemon didn't have such silly names. A pair of Dedennes, male and female, appeared. It was also easier to tell them apart than it was Augusto and Fallina, alias Autumn and Fall. "Dodo, Didi, into the maze." The two Dedennes were represented by a red dot for Didi and a yellow one for Dodo. "You must enter from the opposite side. The maze is highly reinforced to withstand most attacks. Dodo go right, Didi go left."

"Celes, Rodes, let's win this!" Volt's two Electrode rolled into the maze. His pokemon were represented by blue and green dots. "Stick together!" Volt quickly scanned the map, taking mental notes of all the twists and turns. Dodo and Didi had taken separate routes while Celes and Rodes were close to each other. 'Celes and Rodes are about to corner that yellow dot, Dodo I think... Of all the silly names, that should be considered pokemon abuse.' "Celes, Rodes, attack Dodo!" 'Didi is too far to back him up, once they overpower him it'll be two against one, easy.'

A tunnel opened up and Dodo escaped through it. Celes and Rodes rushed through in pursuit. The maze began to shift with tunnels opening and closing until Didi came up from behind Celes and Rodes while Dodo was on the other side. "Didi, Dodo, thunder!"

The blue and green dots got closer to each other on the screen. "Celes, Rodes, stop! Don't crash into each other! Counter with a thunder of your own!" Despite fighting back, Celes and Rodes were still backing up against each other and Volt knew them well enough to know that they would likely explode at any moment. Was his only choice to let them and take the enemy down with him? "Ex-"

"No!" Ashimi interrupted, "don't forget what he said."

"One conscious pokemon... If they explode they'll faint, but this electric crossfire can't last for long." Volt glared at the screen.

"I think I just learned how to beat you in Battle Zone." Jonathan voiced seemingly out of the blue, though it was indeed closely linked to the current happenings. "You're so used to setting things up to be one step ahead that when someone throws off your strategy, all you can do is try to recover it and that makes you predictable. You'll have to play this a little more dynamically than a strategy game."

"Right! Like that ultra classic retro game with the yellow Kirby!" Dorme agreed. "It's not just a strategy game, it's a platformer!"

Jonathan looked almost offended and he felt the irresistible need to make a correction. "Pacman is not of the same species as Kirby, he's a Jigglypuff Munchlax fakemon, Kirby is a Jigglypuff Ditto fakemon and do you even know what platformer means?"

"It's a game with platforms, duh. The yellow dot hops and climbs through the maze," Dorme replied. "Why didn't they just make them into real pokemon anyway, it's hard to tell what they were based on if they're both dots."

"Back then every other character was Jigglypuff based because dots was all they had, it's called retro for a reason," Jonathan explained. "And Pacman doesn't climb and jump, he runs... or rolls. Those are not platforms, they're walls. It's a top view maze."

"No, it's not!" Dorme argued. "You can see Pacman's eye and the side of his mouth. It's obviously a profile view, we see through the forth wall, otherwise we would be seeing the top of his head. He's jumping from one platform to another, so it's a platformer."

While Dorme and Jonathan had their little argument, Volt tried to turn the battle around. "I'm... predictable?" Volt wasn't sure what to do, he was trapped and he wasn't used to being trapped. "Rollout!" He called out at last. "And please don't explode. Celes and Rodes rolled in opposite directions at Didi and Dodo. There was too much electricity from the battle and collision. Even if Volt couldn't see into the underground pipe maze directly, he knew Celes and Rodes were time bombs ready to explode. Fortunately, they managed to roll over their opponents and escaped in opposite directions through the tunnels. "Release some of that excess electricity with thunder!"

"Didi, Dodo, on the move," the maze began to shift randomly again. The two Dedennes showed no signs of slowing down and the Electrodes couldn't get a lock on their targets.

The layout of the maze didn't stop its metamorphosis, it changed so rapidly that Volt didn't have time to come up with a strategy and attempt to implement it. "At every turn, Celes, turn left, Rodes turn right." At least if they stayed on the move it would lessen their chances of being cornered. It seemed that they had regained enough control over their electricity not to explode without warning. "Celes go straight, Rodes, back up a little and make a left, thunder from both sides." Despite having to improvise the navigation, Volt found himself in a good position again.

"Dodo, discharge!" The mouse pokemon defended himself despite being cornered by the two Electrode on either side. That bought enough time for his companion to appear behind Rodes and attack. "Didi, thunder!"

"Rodes, get out of there!" Volt urged. His best chance was to rejoin Celes. "Retreat, roll out over Dodo!" Rodes obeyed and escaped the entrapment with some assistance from Celes. The Electrodes' movements were significantly slowing down.

"Dodo maintain pursuit, Didi take the make a right, go straight, then left." Autumn guided.

If Celes slowed down, Didi would emerge in front of her, and with Dodo behind the Electrodes they wouldn't be able to make it through. But if Celes rushed forward, Didi would emerge between her and Rodes. They could trap her, but then Rodes would also be trapped with Dodo on his other side. 'There's no way to get a full victory...' Volt thought in disappointment, he knew it wouldn't be long before one of the pokemon fainted, but who would go first? Would he risk it all in that or secure a victory that was far less flawless, but a victory nonetheless?

"What are you waiting for, Volt? You have this!" Ashimi cheered.

Volt finally decided. "Rodes, get closer to Didi, Celes, don't let her escape!"

"Dodo, follow him, both of you, knock out that Electrode now!" Autumn commanded.

"Celes, retreat! Rodes, explosion!" Rodes released his final attack reaching the two Dedennes left and right of him with great force. Vibrations traveled through the pipes as the force field embedded into them struggled to preserve the maze from the force of the hit. "Celes, finish them with thunder!" After Rodes' attack, not much else was needed to end the battle and the two Dedennes had no chance to recover. The red, yellow and green dots had disappeared from the maze' display.

"It seems you've managed to win this round," Autumn approached one of the pipes and held out his pokeballs. "Didi, Dodo, return." The mechanism within the pipes guided and amplified the red beams, allowing them to recall the fainted Dedennes.

"Celes, Rodes, return!" Volt did the same to recall his own pokemon. "You both did great. Sorry you had to do that, Rodes..."

"You can't expect to win a pokemon battle intact," Ashimi reminded. "But if it serves as a step to victory it'll make your pokemon stronger and you as a trainer will get stronger too. I think I really learned that with Wartortle and I'm sure Rodes understands."

Volt smiled, "yeah, I guess I was so focus on coming up with the perfect strategy and achieving an absolute victory, that I forgot how to improvise and take things step by step."

"It's vertical, just look at the display!" Dorme argued.

"That's just the screen, the real maze is over there and it's horizontal!" Jonathan argued.

"Video games don't come with a real underground maze, so the maze on the screen is the only maze!" Dorme insisted.

"That's a representation, it's retro, you're supposed to interpret it!" Jonathan argued.

Volt and Ashimi watched them go. "Thanks a lot for making it so much easier to concentrate," Volt sarcastically declared, but neither Dorme or Jonathan seemed to have heard him.

"The season of autumn is not over yet," Augusto interjected. "Let us return to the surface for the next round." He stepped into the pipe within the tree trunk and an anti-gravitational forced pushed him up. He was followed by his sister, Fallina.

Volt, Ashimi, Dorme and Jonathan followed them out as well. The atmosphere outside was an enchanting sight. The constantly falling leaves were glowing. They had looked like regular leaves, unlike in the underground forest at Viridian, but now that the sun had completely disappeared into the horizon, they glowed in the darkness in shades of orange and gold, providing a dim illumination to the autumn area.

Dorme and Jonathan had grown silent, pouting and refusing to even look at each other. "Isn't it pretty?" Ashimi tried to cut through the tension between them, but she felt like not even a Doublade could do that.

Dorme pouted and pulled Ashimi aside. "Johnny and I had a fight," she whined as if it were news to Ashimi.

"I know, I was there," Ashimi reminded.

"Pacman is too a platformer," Dorme pouted. Though Jonathan could still hear them, he simply pouted and refused to comment.

"Well, Johnny was the one who first taught me how to hold a controller when I was really little," Ashimi recalled. "I generally trust his knowledge in games, anime and especially comics. He has a collection that would turn any otaku green with envy and..." Ashimi noticed that Dorme was giving her a deadly glare. "But everyone is free to interpret games however they want to, and if in your imagination Pacman's maze is vertical that's okay..."

"I know, right?" Dorme huffed. "He did the same thing before when he insisted that vampires don't sparkle. He can be so stubborn some times. Is it a crime to like sparkly vampires?"

"That's just weird," Ashimi once again had Dorme's deadly glare on her. "But arguably not a crime, I guess."

"Arguably," Jonathan grumbled inaudibly. He decided to focus on Volt's battle and block out the girls' talk. Volt was calling him over for some reason, he hasn't been paying attention, so he went to see what that was about.

"Johnny gets stubborn about his mythology, but he's really knowledgeable about it, so it's kind of cool," Ashimi voiced. "He also goes all fanboy over certain types of vehicles like cars, helicopters, hover boards and other stuff that only translate into speed for me. I guess that's a part of who he is."

"I've always known he's no snob despite his gorgeous hair and handsome smile, and I'm glad for that, cute guys are rarely also nice. I guess sometimes I forget his little oddities. He doesn't get stubborn often, but when he does he doesn't budge," Dorme replied.

"Yeah," Ashimi laughed. "He's pretty fierce when something manages to trigger his temper."

Dorme rolled her eyes, "you laugh like it's a good thing..."

"What? Aren't you going to say something like," Ashimi tried to make an impression of Dorme, "his geeky moments are so charming!"

"Actually I would prefer if he takes things in a carefree way and just goes with whatever fits the situation instead of stubbornly defending his interpretation of canon. The geeky angle is cute, but sometimes he lets it run rampant."

"I thought you'd say it's fun, liking a fantasy world so much and figuring out how to make it real." Ashimi smiled. "I wouldn't have come up with the idea of turning Team Rocket into a kingdom if not for his princess nickname. It won't be easy, but it would be so awesome. Do you think I'm naive for thinking it's possible?"

Dorme shook her head and smiled. "I'm sure that in his youth plenty of people told Giovanni he was crazy to think he could take over the world, and look at Team Rocket now."

While Dorme and Ashimi had their talk, Autumn had called out his next pokemon, Galvantula. "This will be a team battle," he explained. "I want a rematch with you, boy, so you must battle again."

Fall released a Noctowl from her pokeball. "Choose your teammate."

"Johnny, you're the only one who looks like you could get your head in the game right now," Volt eyed Dorme and Ashimi wearily as their chatter progressed. He knew they were talking about Johnny's pet peeves and habits, and failed to see how it could be such a fascinating topic. Jonathan may have more game knowledge in general, but Volt could still beat him at strategy games and RPGs. Albeit Volt would probably be at a disadvantage if they competed at a platformer, by the standard accepted definition of platformer, rather than Dorme's own version.

"Right, what do you need?" Jonathan tried to focus on the task at hand.

"A battle partner," Volt replied. "It's Galvantula and Noctowl versus our pokemon, and I choose Raichu!"

"I choose Jolteon!" Jonathan's Jolteon appeared and greeted Raichu. He seemed happy to see her.

"Looks like they've become close friends, good, it's better this way for the team work. Let's starts strong, thunder!" Volt went on the attack with Raichu.

"You too Jolteon, thunder!" Jonathan joined in.

Noctowl took to the skies among the leaves while Galvantula rapidly climbed a tree, using its trunk as a shield. "Climb high," Autumn commanded.

"Into the sky," added Fall. Noctowl quickly flew up in a random pattern, dodging the electric attacks with great speed. "Sky attack!"

"Jolteon, knock down that Noctowl before she has the chance to a attack, thunderbolt! " Jonathan urged. Jolteon continuously shot her electricity, but was unable to hit the target high up hidden among the leaves and branches, the dim illumination didn't help either.

"Raichu, don't let Galvantula escape!" Volt had sent out his pokemon on the attack as well. Raichu climbed up the tree chasing after Galvantula.

"Spider web!" Autumn saw an opportunity and took it. From the branches above, Galvantula shot the strings of web at the climbing Raichu.

"Raichu, don't let that web hit you!" It was too late, there wasn't much the target could do to dodge the attack. "Raichu!" Volt hurried around the tree to its other side, from where he heard Raichu fall with a thud. Yet he knew that he couldn't interfere with the battle.

"Jolteon!" Before Jonathan even had a chance to finish his sentence, Jolteon was already running towards Raichu. "Look out behind you!" Just as she was about to reach him, Noctowl dove from the skies and crashed into her, sending her to crash against another tree several feet away. Just as quickly as she came, Noctowl gained altitude again.

"C'mon Raichu, free yourself!" Volt tried to cheer him on as the pokemon struggled to escape the sticky web wrapped around him. With a final burst of electricity, he finally broke free.

"Jolteon, are you okay?" Jonathan ran to her.

"Jolt, jolt!" Her fur stood on end like electrified needles. She was a bit sore from the hit, but her temper seemed to overwrite that. "Jolteon!" She growled threateningly.

"We need to get to do something about their vertical advantage, soldiers," Volt looked up at the branches above and saw something moving between the leaves. "Incoming, it's Noctowl, thunder!"

Both Raichu and Jolteon tried to knock Noctowl down and got a hit in. The bird crashed into the ground and struggled to get back in the air. "Don't let her escape!" Jonathan urged, "use another thunder attack!"

Raichu and Jolteon went on the attack, but at the last second, Noctowl moved fast and flapped her wings to release a toxic wind. The attacks of the two electric pokemon reached the owl, who was knocked out. Yet that victory came at a price, as Raichu and Jolteon were poisoned. A thick net made of spider webs fell from the tree tops, entrapping them both.

"You have served your purpose, Noctowl, return," Fall recalled the fainted pokemon.

"You used Noctowl as bait, as a sacrifice!" Volt glared.

"Just as you did with your pokemon," Fall dully replied.

"That's a lie!" Volt argued, "I had no choice, I knew it was the only way and my pokemon understand that. You still had options!"

"Irrelevant," Fall disregarded.

"Electroweb," Autumn commanded. The spider web around Jolteon and Raichu became electrified, making their entrapment more painful... or so it appeared.

"Jolteon... Try to keep going, this is no time to give up and cry, you can recover!" Jonathan tried to cheer her up.

"Jolt... Jolt!" Jolteon seemed to be without consolation and began to cry loudly, shocking the acrobat siblings. She followed up with a deafening screech with hyper voice.

"Does Jolteon have some kind of personality disorder or something?" Volt whispered to Jonathan.

"Nah, she's just a really good actress," Jonathan quietly replied.

"Oh..." The realization finally hit Volt, Jolteon was using fake tears as a distraction. That meant that they were planning something. "Raichu, see if you can comfort Jolteon, I'm sure you have a thing or two to say about how mean they've been to her."

"Rai? Chu!" Raichu was taken by surprise and wasn't sure what to say to Jolteon. He managed to move in front of her within the net and seemed to be scolding the opposing trainers for the trouble they and their pokemon caused Jolteon. His voice was loud and echoing, commanding their attention.

The acrobat twins had matching annoyed expressions as their eyes began to twitch. "Galvantula, make those cry-babies shut up!" Autumn impatiently ordered. "Overpowering them with their own element would take too long, get down and use giga drain, make it fast!" Galvantula got down from the tree and prepared to go on the attack.

"Dig!" Volt and Jonathan called out in unison. Raichu and Jolteon disappeared beneath the leaf covered ground and reemergence left and right of Galvantula. He was shocked to see his opponents' poisoning gone; it was because of Jolteon's heal bell that was covered up by Raichu's distraction.

"Iron tail!" Jolteon went on the attack, not allowing Galvantula the chance to retreat.

"Focus blast!" Before Galvantula could recover from Jolteon's attack, Raichu went all out to deliver the finishing blow. Galvantula finally fainted, signifying the end of the battle.

Raichu went over to Jolteon to see if she was okay. She rolled her eyes and replied to his concern with a sarcastic tone that left him in shock. "I don't think Raichu realized Jolteon was acting back there," Jonathan quietly observed.

Volt sighed, "Raichu, what am I going to do with you?"

"The battle is over, deception or not, pokemon battles are as much physical as strategic, thus I will acknowledge this victory." Autumn gave Volt a yellow Rocket shaped badge with a little red R. Ashimi and Dorme had taken to watching the battle as it progressed and joined the others in congratulations.

"Even if you've obtain the badge, you cannot leave this season yet. To be granted access to the final season of the year you need to go through me," Fall informed in her monotone voice. "You there!" She pointed at Ashimi. "I haven't seen you do much, so I choose you for the final match of the season. Win and you can move on to the winter territory, lose and your journey ends here. First we must make sure you fulfill the requirements so that you're not a waste of time to Winter."

"As Rockets you must be prepared, should you find yourselves in the need to escape, do you have a pokemon ready to do so?" Autumn asked. "What pokemon will you use to fly? You need just enough to carry you all, though more than one can ride on each."

Thankfully, they all had a pokemon that they could ride on: Chari, Fearow, Pidgeot and Magnezone respectively. "Acceptable," Fall approved after they had each informed her of their pokemon. "Now we will give you a random requirement."

Both Fall and Autumn made a series of fast hand movements like magicians and soon they were holding several cards. "Choose a card, any card," Autumn explained. "You must battle with a pokemon that fulfills the condition. If you are unwilling or unable, you may choose another card, but for each discarded card you must pay a penalty, a time-out of one hour standing here."

The penalty sounded simple, but at that point exhaustion and hunger had settled in and standing around for one hour was a harsher punishment than it sounded, plus they had to finish the four seasons in twenty-four hours. Ashimi picked a card and flipped it around to read it. "Able to breathe under water, my Wartortle can do that."

"Have you have chosen your pokemon?" Fall confirmed.

"Yes," Ashimi confidently replied.

"Then we shall battle," Fall voiced. She and Autumn turned the rest of the cards around to show phrases such as 'immune to poison,' 'covered in scales,' 'native of Kanto,' and a variety of other random requirements.

"Wartortle, I choose you!" Ashimi released the rare turtle pokemon from his pokeball.

"Go Staraptor!" Fall released her pokemon, aiming the red beam upward. The large bird materialized and flew up among the leaves, disappearing from sight. Fall climbed up a nearby tree.

"I will go witness the battle, you may do so as well if you wish," Autumn spoke in his eternally bored tone that matched his sister's. He too hurried up another tall tree.

Ashimi looked up as she heard Fall's voice from above, "aerial ace!"

Staraptor swooped down with great speed. "Watch out!" Wartortle dropped and retreated into his shell until Staraptor disappeared into the sky again. Wartortle extended his head, tails and limbs out of his shell again, unharmed. "We need to get up there, start climbing and have your water ready." Wartortle started to slowly climb up the tree trunk.

"Brave bird!" Staraptor refused to let him get too high up, the fierce bird dove on the attack.

"Withdraw!" Ashimi called out. "And fly like a rocket with hydro pump!" Wartortle retreated into his shell and shot out his hydro pump. Staraptor changed course at the last second and dodged the hydro pump, instead colliding with Wartortle's shell. Though the shell was tough enough to withstand that and more, Wartortle's course had shifted towards the ground. "Hydro pump, get upright!" Wartortle managed to right himself and prevent a collision with the ground, softening the landing. "They're not coming down here and they're not letting us get up there, we'll have to change that."

"Let's start by making the skies less friendly, rain dance!" The clouds in the dark skies above responded to Wartortle and rain began to pour. The artificial wind that sent the leaves flying continuously also sent drops of water in every direction.

"Steel wing!" Staraptor dove towards Wartortle again, wings covered in a shiny metal texture.

"Withdraw!" Wartortle evaded the attack by retreating into his shell, shielding himself from the force of the attack despite Staraptor's superior speed that would make dodging a futile effort. "Hydro pump!" Wartortle countered when Staraptor was close. With great agility and speed, Staraptor retreated to his virtually unreachable altitude leaving a trail of feathers behind from the force of the water attack, though it wasn't a full direct hit. "Hail!" Fragments of ice began to fall, mixed with the rain. The wind threw them in every direction, but Wartortle's strong shell protected him, the rare green shield withstanding the harsh conditions.

"Let us end this, giga impact!" Despite the rain, the hail and the wind, Staraptor charged with all his strength.

"Withdraw and hydro pump don't stop!" Wartortle retreated into the protection of his shell and shot out a hydro pump from within. Staraptor didn't slow down, colliding into the beam of water he charged through it and crashed into Wartortle. Staraptor fell from the effort and a few feet from him lay Wartortle. The force of the blow had made his limbs extend out of his shell again. The two pokemon lay motionless.

"A draw is still a loss," Fall decided.

"Not yet!" Wartortle's eyes opened and he pushed himself to his feet. He took a few steps and stood over Staraptor in a battle stance, but the bird did not get up. With Ashimi as the victor, the group celebrated having gotten through the third seasonal arena.

"It seems you won after all, return Staraptor," Fall conceded. "Winter doesn't like weak challengers, so this extra step was necessary. We had to make sure you truly get this far and merits and not... luck."

"Just one question," Dorme spoke up curiously. "Aren't you two performers?"

"They doubt our capabilities," Autumn assumed.

"Let us give them a demonstration," Fall suggested.

The acrobatic siblings bent backwards in perfect unison, hands and feet flat on the ground. They flipped continuously, then cart-wheeled around and jumped. Autumn stood upright and caught Fall's feet to propel her up to a tree branch. She grabbed it and spun as if it were a gymnastics bar. When she gained enough speed, Autumn grabbed her feet then let go at the right angled to be thrown up to grab hold of an upper branch. They repeated the process as the rain and hail subsided, though the wind still tossed the wet leaves around. The interference didn't bother them as they twisted and jumped from tree to tree, showing off their abilities in perfect synchronization. With their acrobatics done, they finished with flawless simultaneous landings in front of the clapping audience.

"That was amazing, but I only meant to ask why you didn't smile," Dorme clarified.

The siblings looked at each other and Autumn replied, "we were instructed not to smile at the audience."

"Try," Jonathan suggested and immediately regretted it. The twins' long thin faces wore matching creepy crooked grins that looked like something out of a horror film.

"Serious suits you best," Volt quickly insisted. The twins' faces turned expressionless again.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 28: Yes, I made a joke about -that- meme. Wailord x Skitty lol XD The flashback with Ash and Giovanni takes place during Don't Give Me Diamonds. 

Chapter 29: Dorme's Rocket headband is based on Naruto.

Chapter 30: If all the classic games were invented within the Pokemon universe, they would have to be influenced by pokemon. XD Snivy is looking even more like Yoshi now. 

xoxox xox xoxox

Characters

Spring has green hair to represent the greenery of the season and yellow eyes to represent the sun. He is a runner, partially based on the runner from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The theme of speed is based on his seasons name, since spring is sometimes used to refer to fast jumps or running. The line of blue spikes follows the topic of speed representing Sonic. He is a grass type trainer based on the color green being associated with spring. 

Solan, known in Team Rocket as Spring, was born in Unova. His first pokemon was Snivy. He helped an injured Absol at the Giant Chasm, who later gave his life to protect him. Since then he has been able to sense coming disasters, though it is not limited to natural disasters. He gives out the Spring Rocket badge, a green Rocket shaped badge with a red R. He is 19 years old and a very fast runner. He briefly began a professional athletic career, but he won his races with ease and quickly became bored. He initially joined Team Rocket for the challenge of their obstacle course races.

Mont Blanc aka Summer is seventeen years old, has tan skin, dark blond hair and red eyes. He is a champion at skate board and hover board events. He has an unrequited crush on Dorme. He is named after the moogle from the Final Fantasy Ivalice Alliance. He can be cocky most of the time, but ultimately knows when he's in over his head. He's one of the few young Rockets who respects Thor out of fear and admiration, rather than fear alone. 

Augusto and Fallina, aka Autumn and Fall, are twenty year old twins who look a lot alike despite obviously not being identical twins. They have bowl cut brown hair, pale green eyes, a light physique, great balance and flexibility. They are skilled acrobats and contortionists. Augusto specializes in electric pokemon, while Fallina specializes in flying types. They were found in a circus and invited to join Team Rocket. Augusto and Fallina were partially inspired by Desna and Eska from Legend of Korra.


	11. Chapter 11

Awakening

Chapter 31: The Rocket League: Frost Bite (Part 1)

It was dark as they made their way through the snow of the winter zone. The moon and stars provided very little illumination. Any Rockets that made it that far were expected to be at breaking point by then.

"It's so cold..." Dorme complained. At least the uniforms were made with impermeable fabric, so they weren't soaking wet from the earlier rain, though their hair was. "If my hair turns into an icicle and breaks, it'll be your fault, Ashimi!"

"I'm hungry..." Ashimi was too pained by her empty stomach to acknowledge Dorme's threat.

"The rain water we collected before leaving the fall zone is freezing. It'll just weigh us down like that, lets drink up." They followed Volt's advice, though it served as little comfort.

"I want a hot chocolate," Dorme whined.

"With big marshmallows," Ashimi added.

"I wish it would snow," Jonathan looked at the domed skies longingly. "They could make it snow if they wanted."

Everyone shot him a glare. "The exhaustion is getting to you, soldier," Volt concluded. "Pull yourself together!"

"But if we had fresh snow, I could," Jonathan was interrupted by a sign popping out of the ground.

The sign's sudden emerge knocked the stick Volt was holding out of his hand. He had picked it up from the autumn zone and was using it to check for traps beneath the snow. So far there had only been knives attached to the ground so firmly they couldn't be removed, some snap traps like what some people used to hunt Ursaring, close range sprays of poisonous gas and pitfalls. At least the sign looked harmless enough.

Dorme curiously approached the white piece of wood and read the black letters inscribed on it. "The time limit for all four seasons is one day." She glared at the sign. "As if anyone could take more than twenty-four hours of this!"

"It's okay, the night is young and this is the last zone, we're practically at the finish line!" Volt tried to keep up the morale. "Let's not lower our guard now," he cautioned. The foe that awaited them was the strongest of the season Rockets, the one who was truly an elite.

The group continued forward until they reached a deep cliff. There was a metal tunnel connecting the two sides. It could be used as a bridge between the adjacent cliffs, but it wasn't meant to be. There was another sign on the cliff side. "Fly through the tunnel, one pokemon each, or less. Don't touch the walls," Jonathan read.

Volt looked up at the small flying saucer shaped pod that was notable by its red light blinking distantly above their heads. Certainly it made its presence known on purpose to further pressure the trainees with the feeling that they were being watched. In their side of the cliff there was an opening which seemed to lead them back the way they came but underground, before making a U turn at some point and crossing between the cliffs via the large pipe that connected them. Further ahead on the opposite cliff there was an opening, no doubt the exit point of the series of tunnels. "Let's go, soldiers, no time to waste."

They all called out one of their pokemon. Chari, Fearow, Pidgeotto and Magnezone respectively. Mounting their pokemon, they headed into the tunnel. Another sign awaited inside attached to a wall of ice. "You may use one extra pokemon to navigate this maze, at the cost of snowfall," Dorme read.

"Let's do it," Jonathan suggested and was met with a collective head shake from the others. "If it snows, I could-"

"Let's not get carried away, soldier," Volt tried to end the apparent madness. "Chari can melt that wall no problem."

"That's right!" Ashimi agreed, "onward!" Chari breathe fire into the wall of ice and easily melted it out of the way.

The group moved beyond it to find another wall of ice and another sign. The little flying saucer camera wasn't following them anymore, but surely there were cameras inside the tunnel. "Dead ends hold harsh punishments, one wrong move may end it all," Dorme read.

"We need to be careful with how we navigate this maze," Volt cautioned. "In our current state, I don't think we can take any punishments, let alone harsh punishments. Ashimi, can you reach out with your aura and see the structure of the maze?"

Ashimi tried to do so, but her stomach growled loudly and her aura sense faded. "Sorry, right now what I can see with the aura is only as much as I can see with my eyes." After a short pause she came up with an idea. "Golbat is really good at sensing shapes and structures. He could guide us."

"Good idea," Jonathan agreed, "then it'll snow too."

"We need to weight the pros and cons. What's worse, running into a dead end or snow?" Volt analyzed. "I would say the harsh punishment would be worse than the added cold and possible visibility problems of the snow, unless they make such a blizzard that we can't move forward at all. At least we have an idea of what that means. We don't know exactly what the harsh punishments could be and how we would fare against them."

"The way the sign was worded... Do you think there could be time penalties or instant losses in there? Maybe cold chambers that will freeze us alive or..." Dorme wasn't sure what else could be there but she knew it could be, "worse."

"I think we might be better off dealing with the snow," Jonathan insisted. He might add something else to his argument, but his previous attempts had been interrupted, so he left it at that.

"I think you're right, is everyone on agreement?" Volt asked, receiving a unanimous affirmative. "Alright, call out Golbat then."

"Golbat, I choose you!" Ashimi called out the bat. "We need you to guide us through this maze. Be very careful, if we go into a dead end we'll be harshly punished, we're counting on you!" Golbat began to release his supersonic waves. They bounced around invisibly and returned with information. He continued stretching his super sonic reach until the ice stalactites and stalagmites hanging from the walls of the tunnel began to vibrate, but the sound was too high pitched for most to hear.

They followed Golbat to another chamber past a wall of ice. A voice softly echoed from the depths of the maze, perhaps a recording, it was the voice of Jigglypuff. "As if we're not tired enough already," Dorme grimaced.

"I brought earplugs, but I don't have enough for everyone," Volt dug into his small bag to retrieve them.

"Give them to the pokemon," Ashimi suggested. "They've been resting in their pokeballs, so they'll be fine. The rest of us could use a nap. This was meant as a trap, but we can use it to our advantage."

"You want us to go to sleep in the middle of training?" Dorme gaped.

"It's not against the rules, let's trust our pokemon to keep us safe," Ashimi encouraged.

"She's right, we should trust in our pokemon," Jonathan agreed.

They all came to an agreement about that, but there was still one difficulty, which Volt pointed out. "What about Golbat? How will he navigate with earplugs on?"

"Well..." Ashimi looked at Golbat, "got any ideas, buddy?" Golbat nodded and through signs and motions communicated that he could still feel the subtle vibrations, even if he couldn't hear the super high tones. "That settles it then," Ashimi nodded.

Once all the pokemon had earplugs on, they were ready to proceed. Deeper into the tunnel, the recording of Jigglypuff's song became louder and the humans succumbed to a deep slumber. The pokemon pressed on with the mission of getting through the maze and keeping their slumbering human companions safe.

Golbat took to the front of the group, sensing the vibrations that bounced through the tunnel. He could sense the gentle vibrations of the lullaby as well, but was able to resist it as long as he didn't hear the sweet voice. He turned and flew through another tunnel, the maze was ever complex.

A torch of blue flames activated on the wall. Chari roared as she pushed back the blue flames with her own red-orange fire. She signaled for the others to move on, while she kept the blue flames under control, simultaneously making sure Ashimi didn't fall. Once all the pokemon had gotten across the flame trap, Chari increased the potency of her own fire enough to push the blue flames all the way back into the wall. She took her chance and swiftly got across the trap's area.

Golbat sent out his super sonic waves further in. Things got a bit blurry further ahead, but he knew there was no room for mistakes. He pushed himself harder until he got a reading that was good enough to trust and once again led them further into the maze.

Ninja stars suddenly shot out of the tunnel walls guided by a field of magnetism. Magnezone felt the static currents. He carefully but quickly used his electricity to alter the magnetic field and the sharp stars became attached to the walls. Magnezone kept up a gentle current long enough for everyone to get through.

A few more turns later, a multitude of poisonous darts were shot from every direction. Pidgeot and Fearow flanked the others and created a shield of wind around them to deflect the darts. They hurried through the area to a point where the trap could no longer reach them.

The temperature continued to drop as they went deeper into the maze and Jigglypuff's song became louder. Despite being protected by the earplugs, the faint murmur of the melody was starting to reach the pokemon. The cold was so intense that they could see their breath and their skin was numb. Chari transferred Ashimi from her back to her arms and signaled to the other pokemon. They couldn't talk among themselves since they had to keep the earplugs on, but they were good at communicating non-verbally. The others understood that Chari was worried the trainers would freeze without knowing it.

The pokemon changed formation. Continuing to carry one trainer each was the best way to ensure a swift escape should speedy movements become the deciding factor. Golbat still remained in the front, leading the group through the maze and warning them of upcoming traps. At times he would even trigger them on purpose, so they could see exactly how they worked and figure out a way to safely cross. Fearow, Pidgeot and Magnezone flew below Chari, so she could breathe fire from above and surround them in flames, without actually burning them. She kept Ashimi warm also and it looked like all the humans were regaining some of their natural skin color, where as it had previously been turning blue.

They continued at that pace, avoiding all the dead ends and winding paths. They worked together and watched each others' backs. At last they reached the final stretch of the maze and saw another sign, suspended from a rope on the tunnel's ceiling. "Reach the finish line in five minutes," was what appeared written on the sign. Up ahead there was a shiny sensor shield that would not stand in their way, but would immediately detect when any of them passed through. There were several barriers made out of different materials, but Golbat didn't detect any projectile weapons, just the barriers. He did think there was something odd there though, something in the atmosphere, like a current but different.

All the pokemon lined up, the pathway was pretty straight forward. They would begin the race together and attack the barriers in unison with everything they had to break them as quickly as possible. Yet as soon as they crossed the sensor barrier, a massive force pulled them down with the strength of increased gravity. They all flapped their wings desperately, trying with all their strength not to touch the tunnel's lower wall. Chari shot a ball of fire at the first icy barrier, but it was a lot thicker than the others and it regenerated quickly with sprays of water that froze rapidly. Fearow and Pidgeot flapped their wings even faster, closer to the barrier to blow the water aside and allow Chari to drill through it with her fire.

The next barrier was made of metal. Chari attempted to melt it, but it was surrounded by a protective shield that diminished the effect of her fire. Magnezone focused his electricity to push the energy aside and allow Chari to melt a hole in the center of the obstacle, just large enough for the group to squeeze through.

The third and final barrier was made of an unusual sort of glass. So far they had been moving fast, using roughly a minute to get through each barrier. Chari tried to melt through the glass, but soon realized she could not. She recognized the glass, it was the same kind as the material used at the Cinnabar Island volcano. Glass like that could withstand the temperature of boiling lava. She roared and signaled for the others to attack all together. She placed Ashimi on her back again and while keeping her breath of fire on the glass, she scratched at it. She felt it chip away very slowly, but it was something. Heat wouldn't be enough, energy wouldn't be enough, strength wouldn't be enough, but if it had enough of everything, the almost indestructible material might just be broken.

Magnezone shot massive bolts of electricity at the reinforced glass and hit it with his large magnets, pounding on it with all his strength. Golbat, Fearow and Pidgeot attacked the glass with continuous steel wing attacks, chipping away at it slowly. The combination of attacks on one focused area finally managed to crack the glass, but only one minute remained. The pokemon fought on. Golbat, Fearow, Pidgeot and Chari felt as if their wings were frozen and burning at the same time. Magnezone felt his senses fade from his energy being drained to defy the great gravity, and Chari's tail flame had gotten very small.

Without a second to spare, they managed to break through, showing that they were even stronger than the boiling volcano of Cinnabar Island. An alarm sounded, counting down the last few seconds of time left. The opening that led to the other side of the cliff was closing fast. The pokemon pushed themselves forward and rushed through, crashing in exhaustion on the snow outside. The fluffy white substance was coming down hard and it chilled them to the bone, but their mission had been a success. With the crossing of the third barrier, the recording of the song of Jigglypuff had stopped playing, but the pokemon were too focused on making it through the final stretch to notice.

With the song gone, the noise of the alarm for the last few seconds was enough to wake the humans. Jigglypuff's song had thrown them in a deep and surprisingly restful slumber. They yawned, stretched and shivered in the cold. Seeing the humans awake, the pokemon removed the earplugs and watched as their trainers gawked at them. "Chari, your flame, it's hardly there!" Ashimi exclaimed. "And your claws look like they've been burned, and Golbat, your wings are burnt and practically about to puncture."

"Pidgeot, you lost so many feathers and the feathers your wings managed to keep are charred," Dorme observed with concern.

"You too Fearow," Jonathan gently examined her wings. "I can only imagined what you had to face."

"Magnezone, I've never seen your energy supply this low, you can't even float anymore and look at all those scratches and dent on your magnets," Volt voiced in surprise.

"Everyone, thank you for protecting us, I knew you'd keep us safe," Ashimi smiled and everyone agreed with her gratitude. The pokemon felt trusted and loved, they knew their trainers would entrust their lives to them and that they could do the same.

"There's another sign ahead." Volt read, "recall your pokemon before walking past me." He looked at the exhausted group of pokemon, "all of you need a good rest, we'll take you to the pokemon center as soon as possible."

"I wonder if I can get the video file from the tunnel," Ashimi thought aloud. "I'm pretty sure Pixel can retrieve it for us. It's obvious that was an epic maze and I want to see the pokemon in action." They all agreed that would be good to watch.

The four Rockets recalled their pokemon into their pokeballs and continued their walk. They didn't lower their guard and kept on the lookout for traps hidden in the snow. "It's freezing and the added wind is annoying, but it was already too cold before," Dorme noted. "I guess the snow was worth it for that nap, it was surprisingly refreshing."

"I agree, we made the right choice," Volt nodded. "The energy that we recovered should be more than the extra energy we'll use to get across the terrain while it's snowing."

"Plus we get a meal out of it," Jonathan had retrieved a folded up plastic bowl from his bag, conveniently compressed not to occupy much more room than a folded piece of cardboard. The plastic unfolded like origami and was effective in containing the snow. "Only freshly fallen snow will do, for the best taste it needs to be caught before it hits the ground."

"Wait a minute..." Ashimi realized in surprise. "Are you trying to tell me that those snow dishes your mom always makes in the winter holidays are actually made out of snow? I thought they were only named after snow and they were prepared from homemade ice-cream!"

"They're actually made out of snow, hold this bowl a second," Jonathan handed Ashimi the bowl and retrieved a tiny bottle from his bag. "Since I've been at Thor's winter training before, I've learned to be prepared. If we get dismissed without dinner for some ridiculous reason or another, I make a few of the snow dishes in mom's collection of secret recipes. Over the years, she developed a lot of sauces that go very well with the snow. Like this one," Jonathan added the reddish sauce to the mix and steered it with a spoon, it smelled like a cocktail of fruits. "It's a secret family recipe. It has a combination of fruit extracts with concentrated vitamins, it turns snow into something pretty nutritious and changes its consistency enough so that you'll feel full when you eat it. The best part is that it tastes great."

Ashimi's eyes sparkled as she watched the snow evolve before her eyes into a pink substance that was thicker than ice-cream or yogurt would normally be. "I want to try it!"

Before she decided to dunk her face in the bowl like a starving Growlithe, Jonathan gave Ashimi a spoon. She put a generous portion in her mouth, practically squealing in delight. "Yummy! It's just like your mom's special holiday dishes! You know what would be awesome? If grandma baked a cake and your mom frosted it, not only on top, but also between the layers. That would be an amazing combination."

Jonathan's mouth watered just thinking about it. "We really need to ask them to do that sometime soon."

Dorme and Volt were hypnotized by the sweet fruity scent of the improvised meal. The grinned hungrily and extended their hands waiting for folded up plastic bowls to be placed on them so they could collect snow that Jonathan could turn into a meal. Expecting as much, Jonathan passed them the bowls and folded up some extras as well. With different sauces and spices, he created various flavors, it was hard to believe that the main ingredient was actually snow. The group ate as they walked, and by the time they made it to their next obstacle, they were well fed.

Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt reached a cave on the side of a tall mountain. They had walked a long way and guessed that they must be very close to the final challenge. Another sign waited for them at the cave's entrance. "You may summon one pokemon. Follow the arrows without noise," Dorme read.

"No doubt they'll be monitoring the level of sound down to the last detail. We'd best not risk a whisper while we're in there. In fact, be careful when you breathe," Volt cautioned.

"We'll have to choose a pokemon who can get us through whatever obstacles are there very quietly," Jonathan mused.

"It also can't be a pokemon we've called out before," Dorme reminded.

Ashimi swallowed the last bit of her snow food, "ah, that was good. You may have no skill for roasting marshmallows and always burn smores, but as a snow chef you're something else."

Jonathan decided to ignore the part about burnt smores, "thanks..."

"So, who do we have, soldiers? Let's analyze out remaining troops," Volt strategized. "I have Elekid, but I'm saving him for Electivire."

"I only have Hitmonlee, he's strong, but not exactly quiet," Dorme replied.

"I have Foxtrot, Vaporeon and Nya. She still needs some training though she is able to teleport. But that will probably be considered avoiding the training course and we'll get a speech from Thor about not taking the easy way out," Jonathan elaborated, and Dorme and Volt responded with nods of agreement.

"I have Clefable and Furball. Any ideas what kind of obstacles we'll face?" Ashimi asked.

"Probably obstacles that are usually noisy to get through," Volt theorized.

"It's a cave, so big boulders that need to be smashed?" Jonathan suggested. He looked at Ashimi and everyone followed his gaze.

"Smashed or moved," Volt grinned.

"Clefable's telekinesis is pretty strong," Ashimi held up her pokeball. "Agreed?"

"Agreed!" They all cheered, getting the loudness out of their system before going into the cave.

"Clefable, I choose you!" Ashimi called out the pink pokemon and those were the last words spoken for a while.

The group quietly entered the cave. Volt shone a small flashlight around, which emitted a peculiar type of light that bounced off even the most hard to see objects and made whatever it was pointed at look like it was glowing. He lifted his other hand in caution as he kept the flashlight on a thin string across the cave path that went from one side to the other close to the floor. He followed the contraption with his eyes and found that it was attached to bells. They carefully went over it without triggering the trap. They found several more such traps along the way, some positioned both above and below, leaving only a tiny space to squeeze through.

They arrived at an underground cliff side with a stone bridge that didn't look steady at all. They observed it in thought for a moment, before unanimously nodding to the fact that it had to be a trap. Surely the bridge would collapse and make a loud noise when it reached the bottom of the cliff. The cliff itself was not too deep, so quietly climbing down would be one option, but there was a better way.

Ashimi made a motion as if flying, then pointed across the cliff and Clefable nodded. The psychic fairy lifted her trainer with telekinesis and sent her floating all the way to the other side of the cliff. She was about to set her down, but Ashimi shook her head, feeling uneasy about that particular patch of ground. Clefable moved her further away, her psychic grip becoming harder to maintain with the distance and passing of time. Ashimi nodded and Clefable quietly set her down. The pink pokemon carefully repeated the process with the other humans, until they were all across.

The group continued very carefully, on the lookout for noisy traps and buried mines. Up ahead they saw several metal hooks hanging from chains attached to the cave's ceiling. The hooks held a multitude of glass cups that looked very fragile and breakable, and most importantly, capable of making a loud noise upon being broken. The hooks suddenly opened one by one, then two by two, then three by three, with increasing speed.

Clefable immediately employed her psychic powers in catching the cups. Jonathan, Volt and Dorme were about to rush over to help, but Ashimi shook her head, pointed down and made a fast motion spreading her arms. They understood, there were mines buried in that area. Ashimi signaled for Clefable to bring the cups closer so they could pick them up out of her psychic grip and that relieved the pokemon's burden.

Ashimi stepped closer where she sensed no land mines and the others followed her movements, reaching out to grab the cups and pass them between them until they could be set down in a safe area. At last the final cup was placed quietly on the ground it looked like they could relax for a moment, but this was the Rocket League and lowering their guard for even a second could cost them all the work they've done so far.

The hooks were all empty, but now the chains themselves became detached. If the metal clang of the hard ground wasn't enough to make them fail the challenge, one of the land mines being set off would surely be enough. Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt, stretched out to grab as many chains as they could, while Clefable struggled to keep the rest afloat. There were so many that fell at the same time that Clefable couldn't focus on all of them at once.

Clefable began to gently set down the chains she had already caught and then moved on to the ones the trainers held. They were balancing on one foot, with their arms and one leg comically holding or balancing chains. Thankfully, Clefable managed to get the chains to safely before any of them lost their balance. Then they carefully continued their trek through the cave.

A large boulder was the next obstacle they found. Clefable focused on it and moved it out of the way quietly. Volt peeked behind the boulder and signaled for Clefable to stop. He squeezed in and cut some near in visible wires attached to the backside of the large rock, then gave the silent okay to continue. They proceeded through the narrow tunnel and found a wooden door. They could smash it, but that would be too noisy. Jonathan quietly picked the lock instead and they moved forward.

Up ahead there was yet another door, that one made of metal with an electronic lock that would likely sound an alarm if not properly used. In infiltration missions where they would encounter technology like this, Rocket spies had tech support to guide them along the way. Yet none of the members of their little group could call themselves a hacker. They looked at each other in puzzlement. The margin of error allowed was probably close to zero and they weren't sure were to start.

Dorme placed her palms together then parted them as if opening something. Everyone looked at the small flat electronic control panel on the door then unanimously shook their heads. They didn't know how they could possibly open it without setting off any alarms and they weren't sure what they could do once it was open anyway.

Jonathan made a motion as if pressing buttons in the air, asking if anyone had any idea what the combination could be. They all adopted expressions of deep thought before turning their palms up and shaking their heads in a 'no idea' gesture.

Volt punched the air, it wasn't a creative plan but he could think of nothing else to do. They all shook their heads again.

Ashimi pointed at Clefable, placed a finger on her forehead and pointed at the control panel. They thought about the possibility of overloading the small computer with psychic energy before realizing it wouldn't work either. The computer wasn't even an artificial intelligence unit, just a lock. Besides, virtual personalities could not be influenced by psychic powers so easily. If anything, the influx of energy would cause the circuits to overheat and likely trigger an alarm.

Clefable raised her hand for attention, then pointed to a dark corner. Upon further investigation, a very small tunnel was found there. The trainers gave Clefable thumbs up for her observation, even if they weren't sure how they were going to squeeze through there, though it was becoming painfully evident that they didn't have a choice.

Clefable volunteered herself to go first, ready to use her power to protect her human companions. She flattened her wings and tail close to her body to get through the narrow space. Ashimi was behind her and Dorme went through next, followed by Jonathan while Volt kept an eye out for surprise attacks in the rear. Besides, that way they went from the smallest to the largest, as the space was narrow and those who were taller might need a little extra time to squeeze through.

The group spend over an hour crawling through a claustrophobic dark narrow tunnel filled with jagged rocks and the occasional slippery mud puddle. It was enough to drive most people insane. When they finally made it out. They took in big but quiet breaths. The air had become quite thin and foul smelling, no doubt toxic, as they progressed through the tunnel. The tunnel only had one path to follow, but it went around, left, right, up, down, in so many uncomfortable circles, that they ended up just on the other side of the electronically locked door, after an excruciating underground journey. Thankfully, Clefable was able to neutralize the poison with her heal bell.

As they stood and stretched their cramped limbs, they knew the tunnel wasn't an alternate route, it was a penalty for being unable to hack through the electronically locked door. Ashimi reached into the shirt of her tattered uniform and pulled out the crescent moon shaped memory crystal she wore around her neck. The group exchanged solemn looks. If Zero had been with them, surely he would know how to open that door.

They looked ahead and found three piles of rocks of various sizes covering three sections of the opposite wall a few feet apart. There was also another sign to be read. The group read the sign silently, 'choose one path and open it in one minute.'

They examined the three piles of rocks, the walls around them and the ground beneath them, but they could find no clues about what path to take. Finally, Volt seemed to come up with an idea. He removed what was left of one of his gloves and carefully touched the rocks. After repeating the examination, he pointed at the pile in the middle and made a gesture as if shivering in the cold. Those rocks led to the cold winter arena exterior, where the temperature was lower than inside the cave, especially because of the falling snow, which once again turned out to be helpful.

Clefable stepped forward and the trainers surrounded her to set the rocks aside as she got them out of the way. They worked together with great speed and silence. There were a few feet of snow piled on the cave's exit, but if anything it helped steady the pile of rocks to be more easily removed in silence. Clefable lifted each trainer up to the space on the top half of the cave exit and tried to left herself up, albeit levitating was surprisingly more difficult than lifting someone else.

They pulled the exhausted pink pokemon out just in time and walker a few steps forward to where another sign was emerging from beneath the snow. 'The silent time is over, recall your pokemon.'

Ashimi let out a tired breath, "that was exhausting! You really came through for us, thanks Clefable. Get some rest now, return!"

Volt looked at the icy platform ahead. "This thing is just about the size of a gym arena."

"After all this work, we're finally at the last stage of the training," Dorme couldn't wait to get this over with and hit the Rocket spa.

"I want more snow food," Ashimi smiled sweetly.

"Okay, okay, I'll make some more as soon as this battle is over," Jonathan agreed. "But I'll get the snow from the artificial climate room at headquarters, I can't wait to get back. Speaking of the snow and cold, I want to challenge Winter."

Dorme immediately protested. "Why do you want to challenge her? Because she's pretty? Because you have a crush on her? Because you're trying to impress her?"

"Because I have the most pokemon left and haven't been able to challenge anyone in the Rocket League yet," Jonathan explained. "There was the team battle, but I haven't challenged any seasons trainers on my own and I want a Rocket badge too."

"Oh," Dorme laughed, "well if those are your reasons, I don't mind."

"It's okay then?" Jonathan asked.

"Fine by me," Ashimi agreed.

"Me too," Volt nodded, "give it your all, soldier."

The group carefully climbed the icy platform and despite their caution fell. They tried again but were unable to get very far. They wouldn't allow such a simple obstacle to stop their progress when they were practically at the finish line. They resolved to climb on top of each other in an unsteady human pyramid until they managed to make it up and helped each other get on top of the slippery ice platform.

A young woman with long white hair in pigtails that reached to her ankles approached the group. "Are you going to get on your feet and challenged me?"

Dorme jumped to her feet immediately in a burst of anger. "Hey! Don't lean down like that in that tube top, I bet the boys can see all the way to Kalos!"

Winter laughed, "I think your friends are more concerned with catching their breath." Her eyes were an icy blue with long pupils that most attributed to contact lenses, but were actually her own eyes. She was dressed in white, save for the red R on her chest. She wore a tube top that left a portion of her abdomen exposed, with a fluffy feathery trim that looked like feathers from an Altaria, though they were naturally molted, they were in perfect condition, a sign that the pokemon was very healthy. Her mini skirt was of the same design as her top, ending above her knees. She wore matching gloves that ended mid forearm and boots that reached just below her knees.

Two boys and a girl in their late teens wearing Team Rocket uniforms stepped up behind Winter. The white haired elite explained their presence with an amused look on her beautiful, yet somewhat feral face. "I found these three wondering around, looking for a legendary snow chef. I happened to be kind enough to share the identity of the elusive snow chef General Electro speaks so highly of. Before we move on with the final phase of the challenge, they would like to have a word with you. You can use your pokemon if it comes to that, as many as they use."

"It's all your fault," the largest of the two boys, seemingly the leader of the trio, stepped forward and pointed at Jonathan accusingly. "Elite Rocket Winter has granted us permission to settle the score before allowing your group to proceed." The other boy and the girl stepped left and right of their leader, glaring.

"I'll battle you if that's what you want," Jonathan refused to back down. "But first I want to know what all of this is about."

"Don't play dumb, it's your fault we nearly starved!" The leader continued, clenching his massive fists in anger. He was even bigger than Volt. His navy blue eyes narrowed as he glared so angrily anyone would think he wanted to set Jonathan on fire with his eyes. He had light brown hair cut short and was wearing a standard Rocket uniform.

The other two were not so eager to talk, letting their leader be their voice. They were both also dressed in standard Rocket uniforms. The girl had purple and green hair in stripes, dark green eyes and a face full of freckles. The other boy had dark skin, brown eyes and the shadow of black hair.

"Starved?" Jonathan questioned.

"Thor sent our squad out to a frozen wasteland with no food. He used to give us supplies, but one of his winter squadrons got a penalty for being rebellious and part of it was no food. Apparently there was someone who managed to feed his own squadron just fine in the wilderness." The leader growled in anger. "Because of you, Thor decided that going without food would be the new standard because he had such a talented student in his other winter class who was oh so good at surviving in the frozen nothingness!"

"Me?" Jonathan shook his head in disbelief. "That can't be. Thor would never use me to set the standard for anything, he hates me. He would never even hint that I do anything right!"

"I told you not to play dumb!" The leader yelled. "No excuses, go Chandelure!"

"Torkoal!" The girl called out her pokemon, speaking for the first time.

The other boy soon followed, "Magcargo!"

"Looks like battling is the only way to solve this, let's win this, Vaporeon!" Jonathan called out his water eeveelution. He noticed his friends reaching for pokeballs and stopped them. "It's okay, I got this."

"Chandelure, confuse ray!" The leader ordered.

"Vaporeon, dig!" Vaporeon quickly buried himself in the snow. "Use heal bell!"

"Magcargo, melt all the snow, it can't be too deep and the ice below is too hard to dig through!" The smaller boy looked proud of himself for the strategy. However, Magcargo sunk below the snow and into a hole on the icy platform, the water from the melted snow dripping into it. "Magcargo? Get out of there!"

"Finish him, Vaporeon, hydro pump!" Vaporeon jumped out from water at the edge of the leftover snow surrounding the hole Magcargo had dug for himself. He was already surrounded by water as it was and the impact of the hydro pump was all that was needed to knock him out.

"Shadow ball!" The leader went on the attack again.

"Vaporeon!" It was too late. The shadow ball knocked Vaporeon back, away from the resting place of the fainted Magcargo he had just defeated. The trainer recalled Magcargo, but Vaporeon still had Torkoal and Chandelure to deal with.

"Torkoal, earthquake!" The girl shouted. She couldn't believe one of their allies had fallen already and by such a miscalculation no less.

"Vaporeon, melt into water and blend in!" There were puddles everywhere from Magcargo's previous attack and Torkoal's heat near by wasn't letting them freeze up again.

The large icy platform cracked, sending a fissure clear across to field. "Watch it!" The leader of the trio struggled to keep his balance. He had one foot on each side of the fissure.

"Sorry about that," the girl laughed sheepishly.

Magcargo's trainer shook his head, "you need to be more careful."

"You should talk!" Torkoal's trainer countered.

While his lackies took a moment to argue, the leader of the trio continued the battle. "Chandelure, dark pulse!"

"Vaporeon, iron tail! Vaporeon?" The water eeveelution stayed still, watching Chandelure with fearful caution.

"Looks like your pokemon is afraid to battle!" Chandelure's trainer mocked.

"Alright Torkoal, now's our chance!" The girl began, but was interrupted.

"Hold it!" The leader interfered. "You two have done enough already. Go battle one of his little friends."

"Okay," the freckled girl nodded. "How about... You!" She pointed at Dorme.

"Me?" Dorme pointed at herself. Winter gave a quiet nod as if reminding them they were authorized to use another pokemon. "You have no idea what you just got yourself into. Go Hitmonlee!"

Simultaneously, Jonathan's battle with Chandelure continued and the fire ghost was on the attack. "Hyper beam!"

"You have to move, Vaporeon!" Vaporeon dodge at the last second. The beam caught the end of his tail and he howled in pain. "Pull yourself together, there's nothing to fear. This is just a pokemon battle. After you beat Chandelure you can take a break and I'll get you healed soon. It'll be alright."

"Forget it, once an opponent falls into the despair of Chandelure's fear and confusion, there's no hope!" The leader laughed.

"Torkoal, stone edge!" The girl pointed at Hitmonlee. Her Torkoal stomped his feet but nothing happened. "Try again!"

The icy platform shook and the leader of the trio lost his balance. "I told you to stay out of the way, no more earthquakes!"

"But that wasn't an earthquake!" The girl defended.

"It's true, boss, she called for a stone edge, it was Torkoal who messed up," the other boy added.

Torkoal shook his head and tried to attack once more. The icy platform shook, but no stones emerged from its surface. "No, Torkoal, not earthquake, stone edge, stone edge!" The fire turtle's trainer insisted.

Dorme couldn't help it but to laugh, "ha ha ho ha ha! Don't you get it? We're standing on a giant block of ice. Stone edge is taking effect under it in the surface of the ground!"

The purple and green haired girl blinked in realization, "oh..."

"Hitmonlee, jump kick!" Dorme went on the offensive.

"Withdraw!" Torkoal's trainer called out in a hurry.

The turtle retreated into his hot shell before the fighter's attack landed. Hitmonlee jumped back and cooled his feet in the icy surface of the platform. "C'mon Hitmonlee, you're tougher than that!"

"If I could direct your attention back to our battle," Jonathan interjected. "Hydro pump!"

Chandelure scrambled to float out of the way without any commands from the distracted trainer, but was caught by the end of the power spray of water. The leader looked at his opponent, Vaporeon had obviously calmed down and was more than ready to battle. "Don't distract me!" He yelled at his lackeys, before once again focusing on the ongoing fight. "Telekinesis!"

Chandelure lifted Vaporeon in a psychic hold, then brought him down rapidly. "Turn back into water, Vaporeon!" There was a splash when the melted eeveelution hit the surface and Chandelure lost her psychic grip on him. Vaporeon recovered his normal form looking dizzy. "Don't give up, we're almost there!"

"Hitmonlee, close combat!" Dorme called out.

"Iron defense!" Torkoal's trainer responded.

"Super power!" Dorme continued.

"Iron defense!" Her opponent insisted. Torkoal had been hiding in his shell for almost the whole match.

Dorme huffed in exasperation, "oh forget it, just kick that overgrown hockey pug over the edge." Hitmonlee delivered a hard kick to the side of Torkoal's shell.

The turtle was sent sliding across the ice towards to edge. "No, Torkoal, stop!" The fire turtle emerged from his shell and held on to the edge of the icy platform with difficulty.

"Low kick," Hitmonlee went to the edge of the platform and kicked Torkoal off with ease.

The fire turtle landed shell first in the snow below, moving his feet wildly as he tried to right himself. After a few attempts, he finally manage to set himself right side up. Torkoal approached the edge of the broken ice platform and helplessly looked up. "You can't climb up, can you?" The girl with purple and green hair sighed, while her pokemon shook his head, stating the obvious. "Torkoal, return."

"Chandelure, use smog!" The surface of the broken ice platform was covered in the thick smog that made it very difficult to see. "Now's our chance, hyper beam!"

"Vaporeon use detect to find Chandelure and dodge, she won't be able to see you clearly either, but you can sense her." Jonathan sent Vaporeon on the final assault. More hyper beam flew by as the smog began to clear, but Vaporeon had already gotten close to Chandelure. "Aqua tail!" The fire ghost was knocked aside and before she could recover, "hydro pump!"

It was over, Chandelure had fainted. "Chandelure... return, I shall avenge you!" The leader of the trio dramatically declared. "The Fire Furrets will not be defeated!"

"Fire Furrets?" Ashimi asked in curiosity.

"Yes, the Fire Furrets!" The leader proudly declared. "We each have a Furret and the rest of our pokemon are fire types or partially fire types, so we call ourselves the Fire Furrets!"

"Hey boss, maybe we should battle with the Furrets instead of with the fire now," the smaller boy suggested.

"You will do no such thing," Winter interrupted in a harsh tone. "You had your chance and failed. It is over, now you must suffer the conveniences of your lack of strength. I shall contact General Electro to arrange your training." The Fire Furrets trio gasped and looked as if they were about to protest, or beg for mercy, or both. Their words died in their throats when they looked into Winter's wild eyes, long pupils glaring fiercely. "Or would you rather train with me?"

The Fire Furrets backed away instinctually. General Electro was scary, but at least they knew what to expect. Winter didn't usually train other Rockets, no one knew what kind of trials and tribulations she could come up with. At least Thor was a known torture, but the predatory merciless look in Winter's eyes made the trio think they didn't want to find out what she was like as a human trainer. For one thing, Thor at least let then wear coats, yet Winter paraded around in below zero temperature in a tube top and mini skirt as if it were nothing.

Winter interpreted their silence, "didn't think so, now leave before I change my mind, I am not as soft hearted as Electro." No one ever called General Electro soft, the Fire Furrets took it as a bad omen and stumbled to get down from the broken ice platform as soon as possible. 

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 32: The Rocket League: Frost Bite (Part 2)

"Recall your pokemon, let us have a fresh start," Winter ordered with clear authority. Dorme and Jonathan recalled Hitmonlee and Vaporeon. Winter looked at Jonathan, "since your last challengers were such a disappointment, I will battle you myself. Go Lapras! Summon your pokemon, one that you have not used before of course."

Now that they were at the end of the challenge, the rule about using each pokemon only mattered even more. Jonathan only had Nya and Foxtrot left, Ashimi had Furball, Volt had Elekid, whom he was saving for his battle with Thor, and Dorme had already used all her pokemon. Jonathan decided to use his more experienced companion, despite the type disadvantage. He didn't feel like Nya was quite ready for an all out battle without more training, especially not against someone like Winter. "Go Foxtrot!"

"An interesting choice," Winter commented. "Lapras, use hydro pump!"

"Quick attack!" Foxtrot made good use of his speed, dodging every hydro pump that came his way.

"Whirlpool!" It sounded like an illogical move better suited to a watery terrain. Yet surprisingly, the water and snow atop the broken ice platform began to swirl and dragged Flareon into the fissure that ran across it.

"Dig with flame thrower!" Jonathan urged. Foxtrot took in a deep breath and began to tunnel under the ice by melting his way through. Jonathan rushed to follow him from the sidelines. Flareon's red fur was easy to see under the relatively clear ice. "Careful, turn around there," Jonathan instructed.

"It doesn't matter what pattern you follow, you have nowhere to go. Your pokemon will have to come out, or..." Winter grinned. "Body slam!"

"Hyper beam, get out of there!" Jonathan urged. Foxtrot pushed himself out of the flooding tunnel just on time with the energy from the hyper beam. The tunnel collapsed entirely, due to the earlier damage, the additional weakening from Foxtrot's digging and Lapras' body slam.

"I see..." Winter observed. "The ice is broken and jagged. You seek further advantages in movement." Winter looked at the Flareon, who was shaking the water from the melted ice off his fur. "It will take more than that." Lapras was faster in the water than on land and uneven terrain made it even more difficult to move. "If it's sharp ice that you want, then you shall have it, ice shard."

"Be careful, Foxtrot!" The Flareon jumped from one piece of ice to another and ran between the protruding frozen shards as fast as he could. He narrowly dodged most of the incoming projectiles, and melted a few that he couldn't dodge on time. "Use flamethrower to melt the ice and get closer!"

"A useless tactic, Lapras, that's enough ice shards, now use hydro pump!" Winter changed her strategy.

Foxtrot couldn't use his fire as a defense, so the only thing left to do was muster the speed to dodge the hits. "Quick attack!" The Flareon hurried to get out of the way, but he was too close to Lapras and couldn't move fast enough. The hydro pump hit him and sent him flying across the broken icy field. "Foxtrot!" The fire pokemon struggled to get up. The water was so cold he couldn't help it but to shiver from the hit.

"Ice beam!" Lapras was intent on encasing the opposing pokemon on ice and ending the battle.

"Overheat!" Jonathan hoped that Foxtrot had enough energy left for that. He was too cold and tiny icicles were already clinging to his tail and mane. He had to warm up or it was over. A thick mist invaded the arena as ice collided against fire. "Quick attack, go in a spiral!" Foxtrot emerged from the mist in his final effort.

"Lapras, hydro pump!" Lapras shot consecutive powerful water attacks, but couldn't turn in a circle fast enough to hit Foxtrot. Winter knew that if Lapras stayed still, the Flareon would change tactics and be able to position himself behind the water type even faster. "Body slam where you are and hydro pump again!" Though it was painful to break the sharp ice around Lapras, it was the fastest way to gain access to speedier and more accurate movements. With the ice beneath Lapras' body being smoothed, he could easily spin around and shoot hydro pumps in any direction.

"Foxtrot, flame thrower ahead, keep it above ground!" Just as Lapras was ready to attack, Foxtrot released his fire and melted the obstacles, sliding forward on the slippery ice just on time to dodge the majority of the hydro pump when only touched the tip of his tail. Another hydro pump would soon follow, so something needed to be done soon, "fire blast at Lapras, aim low!"

No matter what Lapras did, the distraction would work. Stopping the fire blast with hydro pump would buy some time for the Flareon to approach from behind, and if the fire was ignored, it would melt the ice Lapras stood on and the water pokemon would splash down into the pool, also creating a distraction. "Water pulse!"

"Ember!" It wasn't a strong attack, but it was all that could be done. Jonathan knew that if he pushed Foxtrot to produce more fire than that he might faint from the effort, besides, the fire wasn't being used as an offensive move, but rather a defense to make opening a path easier. Dizzy and looking confused, Foxtrot jumped on Lapras' shell.

"Hydro pump!" Winter urged, no one had the skill or the guts to get their pokemon that close to Lapras before.

"Last resort!" Foxtrot bit Lapras' long neck, preventing the water pokemon from bending it enough to aim at him. He clawed and tried to choke the water type in a struggling effort.

Lapras cried out and struggled against him, but ultimately fainted. "An unexpected outcome, Lapras, return. Is it a draw or did you actually win?"

Without Lapras below him, Foxtrot was left motionless, save for his shivering. "Foxtrot, say something," Jonathan had never battled this hard with any of his pokemon before.

The Flareon slowly lifted his head and replied in a shaky voice, "flareon flare..." He attempted to stand if only for a moment, but simply didn't have the strength to do so. A wave of dizziness invaded his aching head and the world went black.

"Foxtrot?" Jonathan had ran to him. No doubt about it, he had fainted. "You did great, that was an epic battle. I'll get you healed soon, return." With his loyal companion back in his pokeball, Jonathan looked at Winter. "My pokemon fainted too, so I guess it's a draw?"

"No, Lapras clearly fainted first, you've earned this badge." Winter's badge was also shaped like a little rocket, it was blue with a tiny red R. "I congratulate you for coming this far, agents, you've almost finished the challenge."

"Almost?" Volt inquired. "You mean the battle with Electro, right? I'm ready!"

"The general is not a part of this challenge, if you have an additional battle to tend to, you can do so after you finish the seasons challenge. You've obtained what you came for, the four Rocket badges, but even after you accomplish your goal, there will be more obstacles to come. Now you must battle for the right to leave this area and truly complete the challenge by exiting the winter zone by proving that you're not at your last drop of power. After all, Rockets must rely on more than just luck," Winter explained. "I want a rematch with you," she looked at Jonathan like a hunter looks at prey, but I also want to battle Giovanni's granddaughter," she mused. "I'll battle you both, at the same time with my strongest pokemon. Go Altaria!" The majestic cloud bird emerged from the pokeball, extending massive fluffy wings as if beckoning a fierce storm. "I usually only use my water and ice pokemon for this type of battles and don't bother my Altaria with weak challenges, but this occasion is special. Call out your pokemon, Altaria will defeat them both!"

Jonathan and Ashimi exchanged glances and called out the only pokemon they each had left. Furball was certainly a strong challenger, but Nya was so inexperienced in comparison to the others that Jonathan couldn't help it but to worry about her.

"Altaria, sing!" The large cloud bird began to sing a sweet melody.

"Furball, stop that song, thunder!" Ashimi urged her pokemon to go on the attack before the song put them all to sleep. Altaria took to the skies without stopping the song. "Don't stop, keep shooting electricity until you hit her." Finally, Furball's efforts paid off and Altaria was silenced at last.

The powerful bird shook off the effects of the attack and kept on flying. "Sky attack," Winter commanded.

"Furball, watch out!" The Meowth jumped out of the way as Altaria swooped down, waking him out of the remnants of drowsiness. The dragon bird attack again, turning on the air and rapidly returning from the other side. That time Furball couldn't dodge fast enough and the attack hit, throwing him several feet back. "She's coming again, you have to get up!"

"Nya, wake up," the lavender kitten had quickly succumbed to the effects of the earlier sweet melody and was still napping. "C'mon Nya, get up, we're in the middle of a battle here!" No matter how much he called her, the small Purloin wouldn't wake up and if he directly interfered that would only get him disqualified.

Altaria positioned herself above Furball before he could move out of the way. "Dragon breath!" It was a direct hit from above.

Furball was knocked to the ground painfully, just as he had been managing to stand. He let out a loud pained meow as he received the full strength of Altaria's attack. Nya's eyes finally opened at the sound of the alarmed cry and she looked around in confusion, wondering if it was all part of a strange dream. "Nya, use night slash!" The kitten only meowed in confusion and ran over to Furball. "Okay then, use scratch."

Altaria landed next to the two felines. Nya looked up at the new arrival and finally looked like she was going to do something. She walked over to Altaria and cuddled her cloud-like feathers, purring contently. She returned to Furball's side and cheerfully encouraged him to join her in playing with that soft pokemon that came from the sky.

Altaria picked up Nya by the fur on the back of her neck and placed her on the side lines. "Sending an untrained pokemon to battle, I wonder I if should take your badge away."

"Nya's a good pokemon, she just takes a moment to really get into the battle," Jonathan excused. "C'mon Nya, we need to win this, go back out there and help Furball!"

Altaria focused on the Meowth."This should be over soon," Winter mused aloud. "Pluck!"

Furball scrambled to get out of the way of Altaria's sharp beak. "Run for it Furball!" Digging through the jagged ice wouldn't work. Ashimi would have to wait for an opportunity to attack. Altaria's beak went down, missing Furball by a hair. As the dragon bird lifted her head to attack again, Ashimi called out, "thunder!"

The attack hit and Altaria backed away. "Still have some fight left in you," Winter laughed. "Draco meteor!" Altaria's body glowed as she summoned a rain of meteors.

Furball dodged several of the falling space rocks, but had no chance to counter attack. The meteors were coming too fast and one of them crashed into him. "Furball!" The feline heard his trainer and tried to get up, but it was all happening too fast.

Nya meowed in distressed complaint, as if telling Jonathan that the pillowy pokemon was hurting her friend. "Yes, I know Altaria is hurting Furball. This is a battle and you're supposed to be helping him. Do you understand? Go help him!"

"Dragon rush!" Before Furball could recover, Altaria went on the attack again. It looked as if the attack would end the match, but there was a flash of light and Furball was gone. "What?" Winter spotted the two young felines several feet away behind Altaria. "It's as if they teleported, but how could that be?" She locked her beast-like blue eyes on the Purrloin and hissed like a wild cat, "there is definitely something strange about that Purrloin."

"Can you still fight, Furball?" Ashimi asked with concern and her feline friend nodded stubbornly, he wasn't about to give up as long as he was conscious. "Don't worry about moving, save your energy for attacking. Johnny, I'll leave the movement to Nya."

"Right," Jonathan agreed. "Nya, keep teleporting when I tell you to, okay? Make sure you take Furball with you, now jump on the pillow." Nya meowed eagerly and teleported along with Furball. The pillow was Altaria and the two cats appeared on her back.

"Water pulse!" Furball attacked with the liquid element, the liquid being absorbed by Altaria's fluffy cloud wings like sponges.

"Dragon pulse!" Altaria turned her long neck to attack the two felines that had dared to jump on her back.

"Teleport!" Yet before the dragon bird could attack, the cats were gone. Altaria went after them again. "Wait for it... Teleport!" Nya made Furball and herself disappear at the last second.

The felines appeared on top of Altaria again, "thunder!" Furball attacked on Ashimi's signal. The fact that Altaria's cloudy feathers were filled with water intensified the effect of the electric attack. When Altaria tried to counter attack, Nya teleported them to safety again.

"Fly high, Altaria!" Winter urged. The large bird flapped her static filled wings and uncomfortably gained altitude. "Sky attack!" Nya was able to teleport out of the way on time, along with Furball, but Altaria was moving too fast for them to jump on her back. "Mist!" A thick foggy veil invaded the arena, making ot impossible to see. "Draco Meteor!" The rocks fell at random in great speeds.

"This is really intense!" Dorme exclaimed.

A meteor crashed near Volt, "tell me about it!"

"Nya, don't stay still, keep teleporting!" That should keep them safe from Altaria's attack, but no doubt Nya was getting tired by now and Furball was pushing himself beyond the limit as it was.

"Focus Furball, watch out for a chance to use thunder on my signal!" Ashimi tried to sense Altaria's location, "now!" But the dragon bird was constantly on the move too fast for the electric attack to hit. "Try again!"

"Dragon claw!" The draco meteor attack ended, but the mist had not cleared out and Altaria was looking for her targets, trying to grab them with her talons.

'There has to be something I can do,' Jonathan thought. If only he had a better understanding of what Nya could do, he could come up with some kind of strategy. Nya meowed loudly in complaint, she must have gotten tired of teleporting, which meant the two cats were now like defenseless sitting Farfetchd. 'Nya exhausted her ability to teleport for now, but there must be something else she can do, something different from what a regular Purrloin could do.'

The sun was starting to raise in the horizon, indicating that the twenty-four hour period would end in just a couple of hours. "Sunny day!" Winter took advantage of the sun to dispel the mist that was no longer needed as a cover for Altaria, now that her opponents were no longer rapidly teleporting around. The sun brightened, reflecting off the ice in blinding rays that where more uncomfortable due to the early morning angle. The icy arena looked as if it was frozen and on fire at the same time. "Altaria, finish this, dragon claw!"

"Barrier!" Jonathan wasn't sure if it would work, but surprisingly it did. Altaria's sharp talons collided with a field of energy that protected the two felines. Jonathan knew that Nya could use scratch attacks, she had seen her do it with a scratching post, but other than that, she had not shown the ability to use any other offensive moves. Maybe defense was her specialty, then maybe... "Heal pulse!"

Furball was energized by Nya's healing energy and once again ready to go on the attack. "Thunder!"

"Altaria, fly!" The battle had turned out to be longer than Winter expected. Usually, Altaria finished her opponents quickly without this back and forth of offense and defense.

"Gravity!" The dragon bird tried to dodge the incoming electric attacks, but her body felt very heavy as Nya focused her psychic powers on increasing the gravity in the area. As a result, Altaria could not escape and was trapped in the continuous electric discharge of the powerful Meowth.

Altaria let out a loud screech and one last dragon pulse before finally fainting. The two felines were thrown back by the force of the attack and left unable to stand, but none the less conscious, even if it was just barely. "Altaria, return, you finally faced worthy opponents, my friend."

The tired cats were recalled to rest in their pokeballs among congratulations and cheers of celebration.

Winter approached the trainers. "You may exit the winter zone and officially claim victory over this training course. However, you are required to do so via the subway on the other side of this mountain. Follow me," Winter approached the edge of the small mountain, opposite to the side from where they came and jumped.

Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt made their way down more carefully. Their curiosity for Winter increased. She wore a revealing outfit in the freezing cold and was not bother by it. The distance of the fall wouldn't be enough to kill someone, unless they had a really bad landing, but it should be enough to seriously hurt and at least sprain an ankle or something. Then there was the possibility of her eyes not being contact lenses after all.

Winter led the group to a cave on the other side of the mountain. The tunnel led to a subway station with a bullet train in another pipe-like tunnel. "You may board, the train is programmed to follow the proper path, so you don't need to steer it, although you still need to provide the energy yourself, with a pokemon you haven't used yet, as per the ongoing rules."

The group looked at Winter with expressions of surprise. They had already called upon all their pokemon except Volt's Elekid, whom he was saving for the battle with Electro. There was no other choice, so Volt called him out. The group boarded the long metal train and the front cabin's door closed. Inside they found a control panel depicting a map that showed the preprogrammed route that would take them from the northern Kanto mountains, where they were, to the Viridian Rocket headquarters. There was also a clock counting down how much time was left before twenty-four hours passed since the start of the training course, and there wasn't much time left.

"We're not done with this training yet, the only way to win is by winning this final race." Volt observed the glass-like orb set on a thin yet strong pedestal in the middle of the control cabin. The screen scrolled instructions below the map indicating that they should charge the orb with electricity. Elekid got to work on that and the train began to move faster and faster as Elekid's charge increased. "Don't stop, Elekid, keep a steady charge going and we'll make it back to Viridian on time!"

"So, what do you think Winter is?" Dorme asked conversationally.

"Here come the theories..." Jonathan commented. "Not a vampire and not a werewolf, definitely not a sparkly version of either of those."

"An exceptionally dedicated athlete?" Volt asked unsure.

"Human with special powers?" Ashimi suggested. It was logical, but it didn't sound as grand as it actually was.

The door from the second wagon to the control cabin suddenly opened. The four trainers were focused on their conversation and the energy transfer from Elekid to the train. They jumped in surprise and froze when they saw who it was. "Battle?" They whispered guardedly.

"Not here, we'd best not overload the train, perhaps another time," Winter calmly replied. They had not seen her board another wagon further down the train. "As for what I am, the answer is a mutated human." A long silenced passed. Finally, Winter tilted her head and the four staring young Rockets mimicked the action in curious expectant silence. "Is there a purpose for your staring?" Though when battling, Winter was in her element, just as much as when she was filming music videos, when she was not either fighting or projecting a scripted persona for the media, she was somewhat awkward.

Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt exchanged looks, then finally Ashimi asked again. "We're curious. Could you explained?"

Winter nodded, "I see no reason to withhold such information from members of Team Rocket." She began a rather automatic, somewhat mechanical explanation. It wasn't a conversation, it was providing an answer to a question, as if it was a completely impersonal matter. "The media only knows that I was orphaned at a young age and raised by relatives. My mother's name was Nana, she gave me no name. My father had no true name, but people called him the Bloody Killer, and he still holds the strongly standing record for most direct, single handedly committed murders by an individual."

Ignoring the wide eyed shock in the others' faces, Winter continued. "Nana was obsessed with the legendary serial killer and spent a long time stalking him. She caught up to him in a few occasions, but they didn't stay together for long. Looking back on her morbid obsession I know for certain she had to be insane. After a while, she gave birth to me and took me along in her quest to find the Bloody Killer again. She was not a caring mother and didn't like me very much, perhaps disappointed that I didn't have a stronger killer instinct."

"Eventually, the Bloody Killer must have gotten tired of his stalker, because he killed her, though for some unknown reason he spared me. I lived in the wild, north of Kanto, close to the Johto border for a while until Team Rocket found me. I was sent to a laboratory, but Delia found out and snuck me out. Giovanni was opposed to her actions at first, he must have thought I was going to kill her, since I did seriously injure several Rocket agents during the whole process and perhaps some might have died. Yet Delia insisted on teaching me many things, such as how to live among humans," Winter explained.

"Delia named me Stella and introduced me to my grandfather and uncle, who like her, were also nice to me. She also gave me Swablu, who evolved into Altaria. Thus I grew up in Team Rocket with my adoptive mother, Delia, my grandfather, Luke, my uncle Comet and aunt Pixel and Laiki." Winter let out a breath as she finished her explanation. "That was not difficult to explain..." She said it more so to herself than her audience. "Then why didn't I tell him?"

Stella, alias Winter, shook the thoughts away and once again focused on the young Rockets looking at her. "What is it? Have you forgotten that both Comet and the Bloody Killer were modified clones of Luke, thus in a sense his sons? That would make me Luke's granddaughter and Comet's niece. It's a pity that I didn't get to meet my cousin Zero."

Ashimi finally found her voice, "so that makes you my relative too. Since my maternal grandfather was Luke's cousin and all."

"That is true," Stella agreed, though her thoughts seemed set on wandering elsewhere.

Ashimi handed her Zero's data crystal for a moment. "I'll bring him back somehow."

Stella held the data crystal. She had a special perception similar to a pokemon's instinct and sensed a familiar feeling from the crystal. "You have a unique talent, if anyone can awaken him, it will be you." After holding the crystal for a moment, Stella returned it to Ashimi. "However, I must also warn you, I sense danger, as if an evil force is preying upon your soul." Those ominous words hung heavily in the air, threatening to fall when they least expected.

Unsure of what the danger was and when it would strike, the winter Rocket elite left the topic at that and instead revealed something that was a smaller but more immediate issue. "You will have to increase the power of the train in order to make it back to Viridian on time. We are close to the point where it will begin to meet resistance. I will leave you to it." The white haired singer paused at the exit of the front wagon that led to the next one and glanced at Jonathan. "Your Purrloin hardly notices she's different, don't change that." Winter headed into the next section and towards the back of the train.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, at the Viridian Rocket headquarters, general Electro entered Dr. Laiki's office early in the morning. The pokemon doctor was yawning and putting away some equipment and materials that looked distinctly not medical. "Oh, hey, how's it going, Thor? Here to get your pokemon checked out? Did you come across another inexplicably colored creature?"

"Not exactly," Electro admitted. He told himself that he couldn't keep the curiosity to himself for much longer and asked, "can you tell me about White Star?"

"Of course," Laiki smiled teasingly. "What do you want to know? How to get tickets for her next concert? The title of her next upcoming song? Her measurements?"

"None of those," Electro stopped her before she continued listing random things.

"Good, because I wasn't going to tell you," Laiki grinned. "If you want to know any of that stuff you can get the information from her official website. Now tell me, what juicy detail do you seek? But remember this, I will only tell you what I know she wouldn't mind me telling people."

Electro went to the point. "What is she? Some kind of cyborg, or a full android? Are her limbs robotic like Pixel?"

Laiki shook her head, "Pixel doesn't have robotic limbs, she has robotic armor, but she still keeps all her original limbs. While robotic limbs are quite strong, they are less precise with small details due to a reduced sense of tact. Making armor that can transmit tact to the skin under it is relatively easy, but making synthetic skin that can transmit tact to the brain with the precision of real skin, not so easy. White Star doesn't have robotic limbs either, she's not even a cyborg."

"But she's not an ordinary human," Electro insisted. "I've seen what she can do." He recalled running into her at headquarters earlier and inviting her to go out.

xoxox xox xoxox

Electro remembered White Star's words of rejection with their peculiar phrasing, "I have no intentions of seeking a mate, therefore no reason to participate in any courtship rituals." 

She had walked away and he had tried to follow her. "Wait, hear me out a second." Feeling ignored he placed a hand very lightly on her shoulder, bare with her usual tube top. He hardly even touched her but felt as if he had his hand on her bones, as the texture was not as flexible as skin should be. It was odd because she was slender, but by no means bony. Yet the strangest thing was her temperature. It was so hot he couldn't explain why she wasn't in an emergency room with a team of doctors fussing over her fever.

White Star had paused in her walk, grabbed his wrist and shove him against the wall. "Do not touch me."

Electro was shocked by the sudden strong force and could only stutter, "what are you?" Confusion and surprise clear on his face.

White Star looked as if she would answer his question, but paused as if she wasn't sure that she really wanted to, and instead punched a hole in the wall next to his head. "Ask someone else," she walked away without looking back.

Electro couldn't explain the odd event or the hole in the wall. He could certainly punch holes through walls with ease, but his muscular physique made it pretty obvious. How could slender White Star be so strong?

xoxox xox xoxox

After some inner debate, Electro had decided to do exactly what White Star suggested and go asked someone else. That took him to the Viridian headquarters' pokemon clinic, where he intended to consult Laiki's vast knowledge about business that was not her own. The doctor giggled at the general's conclusion that White Star was no ordinary human. "No kidding, general obvious. Let me give you a little science lesson about androids, cyborgs and mutants. It's not my field of expertise, but I think I can manage explaining the basics clearly enough. Of course the real science behind it all is much more complex, but these are the concepts."

Laiki began her explanation by stating a few facts. "Androids are robots that look and for the most part act like living creatures, they are fully mechanical. Virtual androids are the same thing, but they don't start out with a physical form. They are materialized from the virtual plane to the physical world with a technique similar to that used for Porygon. Mutants are humans with different genetics than regular humans which can greatly vary. They can either be mutated at some point in their lives or be born with the genetic differences. Naturally, there are genetic differences between all humans, but I'm talking about bigger stuff than just a few details."

With the vocabulary out of the way, Laiki continued her explanation. "I'm sure you must have heard someone say that matter is mostly empty space. Well in certain types of mutants that empty space is reduced allowing for more matter to fit into a visually smaller space. The tighter fit also means higher temperatures, but those temperatures would be normal in relation to the biology of that type of body. It happened to Comet and it happened to Stella. And that, is why Comet only needs to be attractively well toned to pack a punch a normal human would need ridiculously big muscles to deliver, kind of like yours. Although he still has enough empty space to keep his skin with a flexible texture."

Laiki continued, while Electro listen with curious attention. "As for Stella, alias White Star, alias Winter, she's in a class of her own when it comes to making good use of her empty space. Her matter is much more compressed than Comet's, which means a higher body temperature and a rock hard built in a tiny, deceivingly fragile figure. Technically, she is more solid than steel. Her cells have flexibility in the sense that she can move and has plenty of agility, but if you poke her, her skin won't bent slightly inward like it would for the rest of us, because there's just no place for those cells to go in the space already occupied by other cells."

"If you were to literally try to sweep her off her feet," Laiki joked, "you'd find that she is quite heavy, because even if she looks thin, she has an incredible amount of muscle tissue packed into the small visually perceivable area she occupies. As for her origin, it has to be kept a secret from the media, but she usually doesn't have any problems with telling Rockets about it. The whole not being ashamed of her origin lesson was something she learned all too well."

Laiki looked thoughtful, "I'm surprised she didn't tell you the story herself. Maybe she was busy and in a hurry to be somewhere else and didn't have time to answer any questions or maybe you pissed her off. If it's the second one, I'd be shaking in my boots if I were you, she didn't get to be a Rocket elite because of her pretty voice."

"She had no reason to feel offended," Electro pouted.

Laiki giggled, "aw, don't get all adorably pouty now. She shoots down every man that tries to ask her out. That's what happened, wasn't it?" Electro didn't answer, but he didn't have to, Laiki had heard similar stories before. "If it's a celebrity asking her out, she just says she's too busy with her music. If it's a Rocket she talks about her story and that's enough to scare off most suitors. If not, a quick demonstration of her massive strength and grown men will run and hide like scared children before she snaps them in half. You know what? Since you're such a giant and have such giant muscles, maybe you'll actually be durable enough to survive a hug without being crushed."

Electro let out a breath in exasperation and leaned back on the chair that was clearly too small for him. He said nothing, so Laiki broke the silence with a laugh. "I'm just kidding, Delia had Stella making origami pokemon until she learned to control her strength. Her first single, Paper Heart, wasn't about heartbreak like the media assumed, it was about learning to fit in."

"So what is her story?" Electro finally asked, "but first tell me what that weird smelly stuff was you were putting away when I got here. Was it part of some experiment?"

"Silly rumors," Laiki rolled her eyes with mild amusement. "I'm not conducting Frankenstein style pokemon experiments in here. If you must know, mister curious, that smelly stuff happened to be top quality vitamin enriched hair dye. I finally got around to drag Comet over here and dye his hair back to orange. I told him to leave the white hair to his niece."

"His niece?" Electro blinked in confusion. "I didn't know he had a niece."

"Stella," Laiki grinned in amusement at Electro's surprise. She then proceeded to tell him the story about the Bloody Killer and his crazy fan girl.

After a long silence, Electro finally found his voice. "That movie that's coming out next year, 'The Killer's Apprentice,' is based on that, isn't it?"

"Very loosely," Laiki replied. "Whoever wrote the script probably based it on old rumors and urban legends, and likely had no idea the Bloody Killer actually had a psycho fan girl. They most likely just wanted an excuse to add a costar and throw in some romance. It'll probably turn out to be a collection of stupidly romantic sexy murder scenes."

"When done right in a movie, murder scenes can be exciting and suspenseful, but it's not easy to picture a romantic sexy murder," Electro admitted.

"Unless the murder victim gets revenge by coming back as a zombie to seduce the killer," Laiki grinned mischievously.

Electro thought the concept was very odd. "Is there really a movie about that?" He thought the question was stupid after he had already asked it, because the answer to that question, no matter how odd the concept was, would always be an resoundingly obvious yes.

But instead all Laiki said was, "role play."

"A video game?" Electro assumed.

"Never mind," Laiki returned to the main subject. "Like I said, Stella usually has no qualms about sharing the gory details of her past, so I don't know why she punched a wall over it."

Electro blinked, "did I mention she punched a wall?" He thought about it, but he didn't recall voicing it.

"Details, details," Laiki disregarded. "Maybe she thinks you and Comet were fighting for real when you were helping him not be so berserk. By the way, it looks like he got that under control. Anyway, I doubt that's the cause, she would have mentioned it to Comet and he would have clarified. Maybe you did something else to make her be so... unwilling to communicate."

"I can't think of anything I could have done to upset her, but thanks for the info." Electro tried to get out of the chair but found that it was stuck, which sent Laiki into a fit of giggles. He wasn't fat, in fact he was all muscle, but muscle occupied plenty of space and was quite heavy. Electro finally managed to pry the chair off and stood to his full towering height. He tried to look indifferent to the chair incident and exit the doctors' office with as much dignity as he could muster.

When Laiki finally got her laughter under control, Electro was already gone. She spun on her chair to face the desk and began to look over some patient files on the computer. "Or maybe she just likes you..." She mused aloud.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt were almost to Viridian City, though Elekid was clearly exhausted. They tried to cheer him on, but the train felt heavy and they were running out of time. Elekid whimpered and mumbled what sounded like an apology. "Don't give up, Elekid, it's not over yet!" Volt tried to encourage him, but Elekid's electricity was diminishing and the train was slowing down. "C'mon, don't lose the momentum, soldier!"

Ashimi placed her hand on Volt's shoulder and her felt silent and she stepped forward. "Rest up Elekid, we don't want you to get hurt." Everyone, Elekid included, stared at her in shock. "Isn't that what's most important, Volt? After all, we all know how hard trying none stop is."

"Yes, of course," Volt nodded. "I don't mean to make you suffer. I just didn't want you to give up because I know you have it in you. Sorry Elekid, I didn't mean to push you so hard, I just really trust you and believe in you."

Elekid smiled and started charging the train again. The vehicle resumed its movement against the forces that felt as if they held it back. The power was being rerouted to a reserve as part of the test which meant that less was spared for the movement of the train itself, giving the impression that it was heavier.

As Volt watched Elekid power the train, he realized that he had been pushing Elekid hard, just as Electro probably did when he was his pokemon. Maybe that's why Elekid's brother evolved and he didn't, the pressure got to him. Ashimi must have been able to sense that, how did he not notice it about his own pokemon? Well, better late than never. Volt felt as if he had learned quite a few lessons from that training, they all had. Things could only get better now.

xoxox xox xoxox

The train finally arrived at the Viridian Rocket headquarters and the clock on the display panel froze with only one minute and eleven seconds to spare. The group let out a collective breath of relief as they thanked and congratulated Elekid for his efforts.

Winter entered the front of the train and officially declared the training over, adding an explanation. "If you had failed to get here on time, the train's autopilot would have moved it to another area where the penalty training would take place."

The train's door opened and the group exited to find Electro already waiting there to see the train stop or move on, in which case he would need to hurry to its alternate destination as well. He was really hoping that it would stop and chose to wait there to show he did think it would. He was glad to see that the train stopped and surprised to find that Winter was in it. "White Star, what a surprise to see you here."

"I was scheduled to report to headquarters and there was no reason to doubt they would be able to provide enough power to complete the final challenge of the new seasons training," White Star replied.

"They made you that confident in their skill? Good, good," Electro laughed. While he tried to think of a way to talk to White Star for a little longer, his stalling was interrupted by one of his pokeballs going off. There was a flash of light, but they didn't see the beam extend out to release the creature it contained. Instead they witnessed Electro doing a funny little dance. "Stop it! Don't crawl up my back!"

A small unknown thing appeared on Electro's right shoulder, peeked its little blue head out of his sleeve, crawled to his other side and repeated the action. Then the fuzzy blue thing crawled up his neck and the side of his face to perch on his head. "Pichu!"

All eyes remained on the small creature as a few quiet, "aw," drifted through the air.

White Star curiously looked at the tiny pokemon that Electro was removing from his head. The creature was small and his hands were big, so he was able to fit her in his palm. "May I?" White Star reached out and picked up the Pichu. She seemed to be a normal Pichu in every aspect, save for the fact that she was blue. The singer petted the Pichu, who giggled contently.

"Pikablue wasn't a joke?" Volt stared. When Surge's couple of Raichu had their first Pichu, Electro already had pokemon of his own and decided to let his younger brother keep the new pokemon as his starter. However, he mentioned that if they had another, he wanted to train the next one. When Surge emailed that Volt's Raichu now had a baby sister and that she was blue, thus She was nicknamed Pikablue, Volt assumed that it was all part of a practical joke.

"No, she's real alright, mischievous little thing. No one can figure out why she's blue. In every other way she's a normal Pichu, with normal Pichu abilities, as far as science can tell anyway. Mom says Rina might have eaten something odd before laying the egg," Electro explained. "No one knows for sure why this happened, but regardless of the color I'm training this pokemon to be strong!"

White Star handed the blue Pichu back to his trainer. "Treat this pokemon well or I'll kill you."

Electro was taken aback at first, but it didn't take him long to process that if Winter was going to keep an eye on Pikablue, that meant they would be running into each other every now and then. "Yes, ma'am!" He grinned cheerfully. People didn't usually respond to her glaring death threats with such a positive attitude, which made the famous White Star muse that the Rocket general was even stranger than she thought. She began to leave and Electro called out to her, "I guess I'll see you around, White Star..."

She paused and for a moment Electro thought he should get ready to dodge a punch, a kick, or both. Yet the white haired elite merely glanced back and said, "call me Stella." Then she swiftly left without another word.

"Stella," Electro grinned like a dumbstruck idiot as he recalled Pikablue. The quiet murmurs coming from the four young Rockets standing nearby made him snap out of it and recover his serious composure. "Attention!"

Volt, Jonathan, Dorme, Ashimi, and Elekid, who had not yet been recalled, all stood straight and saluted military style. "Our battle," Volt began, after a silent moment. Elekid stood beside him and tried to look ready. "Will have to wait," the Vermilion gym leader finished. Elekid stared and tried to protest. "Now isn't the right time, Elekid," Volt reasoned with him. "I realized I had a lot to learn and wasn't training you quite right. Next time, we'll be ready to win."

"Sounds like you got a little wiser," Electro noted. "I hope you all did. It would make me look bad as a trainer if my best summer and winter students and my own brother couldn't get through this training, even if it was designed to be ridiculously hard. And if Giovanni's granddaughter couldn't make it, that would make Team Rocket as a whole look bad."

'No pressure,' Ashimi quietly thought sarcastically.

'Lucky, I can do it all for you,' a voice in her head replied to her thoughts. It was a warped and impossible to identify echo of a distorted sound. She couldn't tell if it was male or female and didn't even know how she could understand what it said.

A cold chill ran down her spine, but she pushed the sudden panicked feeling aside. 'It's because my earrings are cracked,' Ashimi reasoned. 'I'm just being over sensitive to the auras around me again. I managed to overcome it once and I won't let it get to me again.' She tried to remain calm and made no clear outward indication of discomfort, beyond what could be attributed to being tired.

Electro had continued his speech in ways that surprised the others. "I didn't want to credit you too much so it wouldn't go to your head, but you've all done very well. Just make sure you don't slack off! Volt, we'll battle whenever you're ready. Until then, train hard and find a way to give the Elekid some real confidence, not just in appearances, I'm sure Electivire will be happy to see his brother grow strong... At ease, soldiers!"

Electro left the four surprised young Rockets to muse over his words. Was the way he acted his own way to show his trust and confidence in their abilities? Did that last part mean that he was also happy for his brother? Perhaps the terrible Thor wasn't so terrible after all, but they wouldn't let him catch them with their guard down.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 33: Beauty

Ashimi, Dorme, Jonathan and Volt were finally well rested after the Rocket League. They had watched the video of the winter zone maze they slept through, had more snow food and got ready to continue their training... Right after the holidays. The group stepped out to the Viridian Forest, which was just as green as always.

"I remember there used to be snow here when I was little," Ashimi looked up at the foliage that thickly covered the skies in green. Her Pikachu, whom she called Lightning, as there were a few chus in her family, was riding on her shoulder, having grown too big to be a comfortable hat.

"It used to," Jonathan recalled, but the mutant trees pass chemicals to the trees above them and they keep things warm, Kanto is a tropical area now, except in the mountains up north, it still snows naturally there every now and then."

"It's almost Christmas," Dorme reminded. "After the holidays, the Indigo League will be right around the corner in the spring."

"I need to go shopping," Volt grimaced. "My brother will probably send a bunch of expensive and possibly lethal trinkets to our relatives as if he were shopping for himself with no thought what so ever for what use they could have for that stuff. At least I can beat him in sending thoughtful gifts... Even if I'm kind of bad at picking stuff."

"Don't worry about that, now you have us to help you shop, we can all shop together!" Dorme cheered.

Volt wasn't sure if he should be thankful for the help or plotting his escape. Jonathan tried to remain unnoticed, but he knew they would drag him along too.

"Let's do our Christmas shopping online this year," Ashimi suggested, surprising everyone.

Dorme gasped and protested. "What about the thrill of going from store to store in a Christmas present treasure hunt?"

"We won't have time for it if we're going to accomplish the mission to make it snow!" Ashimi declared. "Even if Kanto is a tropical environment now, we can still make it snow, that's what artificial climate control is for. I'll ask grandpa if we can borrow some machines and have a white Christmas this year!" Before her friends had the opportunity to point out the flaws in her plan, Ashimi had ran off back inside.

xoxox xox xoxox

A few minutes later at Giovanni's office, the Rocket boss found himself shaking his head and trying to reason with his granddaughter. "No snow, it'll ruin the crops being farmed east of Viridian and that's become Kanto's primary supply of fruits and vegetables."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Ashimi tried to sound convincing.

"If you want to cause a famine in Kanto, wait until you're the boss, then you can terrorize the world however you want." It was hard to say if Giovanni was being sarcastic or not.

"I won't make it snow in the farms," Ashimi changed tactics, "only in the Viridian Forest!"

"The forest is too warm, the snow will turn to rain," Giovanni reasoned. "If you want snow, just go to one of the climate control rooms."

"But it's not the same," Ashimi pouted. "I know, how about I borrow one of the big climate control machines in the poles? They have two in each pole anyway and they only need one to work. That has to make things cold enough!"

"Absolutely not," Giovanni spoke so harshly it made Ashimi fall silent and step back. "You will not touch those machines, young lady. It's too risky if the primary pole freezing mechanism fails and there's no backup. Do you know how fast the polar caps will melt and how much land will be flooded?"

"But what if we had a ship and-" Ashimi was interrupted.

"We are not going to fill a server with two of each pokemon, put it on a ship and digitalize ourselves into it like in that movie Noah's Matrix or whatever it's called. The earth's atmosphere is too warm, so the sea level wouldn't go down for centuries," Giovanni explained. "We'd be stuck living on the ship for the rest of our lives. Plus human digitalization hasn't been achieved," though not for lack of trying. "You can cause mass extinction by flooding when you're the boss, but I just don't have the energy left to deal with another mass panic and near apocalypse."

"Queen," Ashimi quietly corrected, reminding him of her wish to turn Team Rocket into a prosperous kingdom. "And I don't want to destroy my own kingdom."

"Then I suggest you don't let the poles melt," Giovanni voiced with finality.

Ashimi sighed and quieted for a moment, then cheered up as an idea came to her. "We should have a Christmas party in the north pole! We won't touch the climate control, I promise! We'll just build harmless snow men a reasonable distance away!"

Giovanni knew that getting Ashimi to give up on something was like getting Ash to give up on something: near impossible. "I suppose that's alright. I'll grant you and your friends access to the north pole, but do not mess with the climate control. The fact that Team Rocket keeps the poles from melting and causing massive floods all over the world is part of the reason why the world is so compliant and I don't want that getting ruined," Giovanni emphasized. Never mind that it was because of Team Rocket, their mutant rain forests, and rearranging of tropical territories that the polar melting had become an immediate critical issue rather than something to worry about in the next five hundred years. But hey, if you could replace it, breaking it wasn't such a big deal after all.

"I thought it was because of the radioactive laser satellites," Ashimi voiced.

"That too, but people have been worked up about the poles melting since your parents were small children, so they've had time to imagine all sorts of possible scenarios. When it became an immediate issue, people were convinced the world was going to end and that every bit of land would be covered in water. The latter would have been fairly accurate. You were only a toddler at the time and probably had no idea what was going on. You were cranky about not being allowed to play outside until the great flood threat was over," Giovanni recalled.

"Wow, that must have been... Interesting," Ashimi laughed.

Giovanni smiled, "and very chaotic, but ultimately, I decided it wasn't my style after all. I prefer to actually have a world to rule over."

"I promise to behave and not bring forth the apocalypse," Ashimi smiled sweetly.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi exited her grandfather's office to the hallway where her friends were waiting. "We can't make it snow in Kanto without causing a famine and we can't borrow the poles' machinery to focus the snow in the warm Viridian Forest without risking massive floods all over the world and mass extinction for various species. So instead we're just going to visit the north pole."

"Sounds good, I've heard that no one is allowed near the poles with the exception of Team Rocket." Volt thought it might be an interesting experience.

"And Team Flop, but don't call them that," Jonathan commented.

"What's Team Flop?" Ashimi inquired.

"It stands for Flood Prevention, but there's supposed to be a story behind the nickname," Jonathan replied.

"I heard about that!" Dorme exclaimed. "Team Flop is actually Team Magma, or what was left of it at the time when people panicked over the poles melting and flooding the world or something, mom told me a story about it. People worry over everything, the boss clearly has things under control. Anyway, Team Aqua loved the idea of flooding the world, so they reemerged, turned from harmless cult to water terrorists, and tried to sabotage Team Rockets' efforts at the poles. Team Magma reassemble as well and joined Team Rocket, offering to dedicate themselves to guarding the poles to ensure they don't melt and flood the world. They were supposed to be the Flood Prevention Squadron, but were nicknamed Team Flop because the reemergence of Team Magma was a flop and they needed to join Team Rocket to actually do anything."

"That means we have a mission!" Ashimi declared with great determination. "I imagine that the Flop, I mean, Flood Prevention Squadron of today are new members and maybe descendants of the Team Magma of the past. Even if people from back then are still a part of it, it's not fair for any of them to carry that stigma. Team Magma and Aqua might have been the enemies in the past, but they're all gone now, we're all Rockets and our team shouldn't be divided like that. The Flood Prevention Squad is doing an important job and they should be treated with dignity as members of the Rocket Kingdom!" Ashimi marched off full of determination. "To the north pole!"

"There she goes..." Jonathan watched quietly.

"This holiday season is going to be very busy, but if anything it will be interesting," Volt breathe.

"Ashimi, can we make a stop on our way to the north pole?" Dorme hurried to catch up with the red head and started whispering to her. The boys didn't know what that was about, but they didn't like it.

xoxox xox xoxox

While Kyurem shaped jet broke the sound barrier, Ashimi was focusing hard. She had recovered her energy and was concentrating her aura on Zero's data crystal. Dorme had a mischievous grin plastered on her face while Jonathan and Volt were stuffing their faces with gummy Teddyursa to ease their nerves.

'Do you want him back?' A mysterious echoing voice spoke in Ashimi's mind.

Ashimi looked up, but it was evident that no one else could hear it. She attributed it to a sensitive aura due to her cracked earrings, but she wasn't sure what she was sensing up there. The jet was piloted by a Pyrogon-Z that commanded the autopilot programs and Ashimi didn't think she was sensing the poke-pilot. The only other occupants of the jet were her friends and the pokemon, but the voice was unfamiliar and somewhat alarming. Even so, Ashimi couldn't help it but to answer, 'of course I want him back!'

'Then I will give him your energy.' Though the voiced frightened her, Ashimi sensed that it wasn't lying. It really was trying to establish a connection between their auras. 'You will have to keep a continuous flow of energy to him. Are you willing to do that?'

'Yes,' Ashimi replied in her mind. 'I'll stay by Zero's side and give him all the energy he needs. Please, bring him back!'

Jonathan paused in his gummy Teddyursa devouring session and looked at Ashimi. Rather than focused, she looked lost. "Ashy?" There was no reply, "Ashy?"

The crescent moon shaped data crystal Ashimi held pulsated with her energy. Jonathan fell silent, Volt dropped the gummy he had just picked up in frozen shock and Dorme stared wide eyed.

First there was only a silhouette, then it was filled up with rough polygons that slowly became more well defined. Finally, the ghostly figure took on a familiar shape and turned more vivid until peculiar pupil-less blue to black gradient eyes opened. "Ashimi?"

Ashimi felt a dizziness rush to her head. Her fear for the creature in her mind dissipated as if lulled by a sweet venom. "Zero..." She whispered. A ripple of energy passed through her, the voice was giving her strength, yet at the same time consuming her defenses. 'Who are you?' She thought.

'I am a legend,' the voice ambiguously replied.

'A legend,' Ashimi hugged Zero and let the comfort of his return wash over her. She assumed the voice belonged to a legendary pokemon, maybe an old friend of her father, or maybe a new legendary that she would be the first human to make contact with. She felt the presence retreat into the depths of her aura and no longer felt herself able to communicate with it. She let it be for now, she was very grateful to have Zero back and could think of little else.

"Ashimi... Your energy..." Zero noticed it, his data was as scrambled as ever, but the aura that flowed into him projected it as it should be.

"I'll keep you safe, I'll give you all the energy you need," Ashimi smiled. "Just stick with me and you'll be fine."

xoxox xox xoxox

When the jet landed, Jonathan and Volt tried to calm the foreboding feeling that overtook them, but they simply couldn't. They were very happy to see Zero again, but the landing reminded them of the stop Dorme wanted to make.

"Here we are, Floaroma Town!" Dorme happily announced. She held one of Zero's hands and Ashimi held the other.

"Let's go to the pokemon center to get Nidoran sent over," Ashimi smiled.

The group made their way to the pokemon center, cheerfully sharing stories with Zero. Soon Nidoran joined them and jumped on Zero's shoulder. Dorme busied herself with some forms and handed them to Joy, who cheerfully reminded her to be on time.

The group headed into one of the center's guest rooms where Dorme started digging through her bag. "We'll have to leave through the window so Joy doesn't suspect anything. There's not much time to prepare, so let's get to it!" She pulled out four kimonos. "It's too bad you're too young to be in the contest Zero, you'd make such a cute little girl. Oh well, with the four of us lovely young ladies competing, we have to win!"

Jonathan and Volt exchanged panicked looks. "Lovely ladies?" They backed away until they were against the wall.

"Oh the fun times I'd be missing," Zero laughed.

'I think you're just as awesome as a boy or girl, aniki,' Nidoran complimented.

"Honestly, I rather not find out about the latter," Zero laughed.

"C'mon guys, you gotta help me!" Dorme pleaded, she batted her eyelashes and put on her cutest pouty look. "I really need to win this contest, but it's not just about beauty, it's but about putting on a pretty show with the pokemon. My pokemon are trained to be tough fighters and beautiful as they all are, I don't know how smooth the transition from warriors to show pokemon will go. This way one of us had to win!" Dorme insisted as if her very life depended on it. "And since entering the contest was my idea, no matter who wins, I get the prize!"

"But why do we have to dress up as girls?" Volt whined. "Guys can enter pokemon contests too!"

"Like I said, it's a mix between beauty contest and pokemon contest. The beauty contest part is for girls only," Dorme explained. "Relax, no one's going to test your DNA or anything, looking like a girl is enough."

"No," the boys complained.

"Ashimi!" Dorme whined.

"Sorry guys, I promised Dorme I would help, so as grandpa would say, do it or else." The phrase was indeed spoken by Giovanni in many past occasions, but never for an event like that.

Jonathan and Volt exchanged looks of fear, then of determination. Finally they nodded and challenged, "or else what?"

Ashimi wasn't sure what to say. "Well, I hate to pull rank and abuse my Rocket connections..."

"What are you talking about? You're the future boss, so get to bossing them around!" Dorme exclaimed in exasperation, though it was clear that Ashimi didn't really want to do that. The blond girl let out a frustrated breath, "fine, I'll do it myself. Do what I say or I'll blackmail you!"

"With what?" Jonathan challenged.

"Yeah, you got nothing on us, soldier!" Volt confidently added.

"Yes I do, remember the incident that led to being knocked out with a frying pan?" Dorme reminded Volt. "Nurse Joy totally got the wrong idea and thought you were trying to make out with me. I'll tell your father you're a pervert, have Joy as my witness and he'll ground you until next century, you horribly undisciplined and disrespectful soldier!"

"You can't!" Volt begged. "None of that is even true. You were trying to kill me and I was trying to stop you, it was a matter of survival. Passion had nothing to do with it, it was all simple and innocent survival of the purest kind!"

"And I'll tell your brother too," Dorme cruelly added.

Volt grimaced and sighed, "alright, you win. I'll wear the kimono and pretend to be a girl, but only this one time. After this, we're even and you have to promise me you won't blackmail me again."

"Sure I promise," Dorme grinned and crossed her fingers behind her back.

"Since you have no blackmail on me, I will not be participating in any of this," Jonathan declared.

Dorme thought for a while. "Ratattas, he's right, I've got nothing."

"Why not just think of it as a Rocket mission?" Ashimi suggested. "Your parents are masters of disguise and they used those skills all the time when they were trying to steal dad's Pikachu. It's the same basic concept except you're trying to win a prize instead of stealing a pokemon."

"Not the same thing," Jonathan pouted.

"Close enough?" Ashimi tried.

"Candy bribery?" Zero suggested.

"Not even that will work," Jonathan refused.

"I thought of something!" Dorme exclaimed with a mischievous grin. "I'll tell your grandparents that you miss Alice and talk them into sending her over!"

"No!" Jonathan exclaimed in desperation before he could even think about feigning indifference. He let out a resigned breath, "you win..."

"It feels good to be a winner," Dorme smiled in satisfaction.

"So what's the big prize?" Zero curiously inquired.

"A Vulpix," Dorme spoke as if she had already won. "Not just any Vulpix, I'm talking about the daughter of Suzy's famous beauty queen Ninetales. Suzy is a famous pokemon stylist and everyone knows her gorgeous Ninetales, the softness of her fur rivals even Johnny's beautiful hair! Suzy has said that Ninetales' daughter wants to see the world, so she's looking for a traveling trainer for her. Because Vulpix is shy around boys, she's looking for a girl who understands beauty and proves it by winning the contest. Such a sweet pokemon can only be amazingly beautiful, like her mother. I must have her in my team! Now that you understand my reasons, let's get ready!"

xoxox xox xoxox

Two hours later Dorme, Ashimi, Volt and Jonathan were all wearing kimonos. Zero was wearing a technology inspired yukata with dark colors and bright ones and zeros in random patterns. He also had a Porygon-Z hat with a black and green palette switch, because the girls really wanted to see him wearing a cute outfit. He was thankful he still got to dress as a boy.

Volt had a platinum wig that Dorme insisted brought out his teal eyes, which were accentuated with silver makeup. Metallic colors dominated the intricate electrical patterns on his kimono and the loose fabric and thick waist bow tried to hide his decidedly male physique.

Jonathan's kimono followed the same design, with pink tonalities and a cherry blossom theme. "Why can't I wear a wig too? What if I'm recognized?" He cringed at the sound of his own words coming out in a feminine voice that was not his own, due to the voice modifying choker around his neck.

"Short hair can look good on girls too and there's no way I'm covering up your pretty hair. The pink bow does a fine job of balancing the look so you don't look too tomboyish. Don't worry, the light pink makeup really softens up your face, no one will suspect you're anything but a beautiful girl." Dorme adjusted her mistletoe hairpin for what felt like the millionth time, but Johnny once again failed to notice it's presence and significance. She lifted the skirt of her soft green kimono slightly and sped up her walk to the meadow near the town, where the contest would take place. The mistletoe adorning the fabric stood out with its darker grew leaves and bright red berries that matched her lipstick.

Ashimi was just glad Dorme didn't insist on high heals and instead thought the traditional sandals usually worn with kimonos would be a better match for their outfits. Ashimi touched her hairpin just to make sure it was still there. It was a beautifully carved diamond snowflake worth a small fortune, she had received it as a gift from her grandfather last Christmas and didn't want to lose it. It was not really the monetary value of the jewelry that she cared about, but the memories attached to it, as that year Giovanni took a little extra time off for the holidays, probably at Delia's insistence, and was there for the personal festivities more that he had been in previous years. Ashimi's kimono fit with the snowflake theme with white and silver on pale blue, making her red-orange hair stand out.

The five of them made it to the meadow were the contestants and audience had gathered. The place was filled with murmurs that had a worried tone of uncertainty to them. "Your attention please!" Suzy went up on a small stage in the center of the meadow. The voices around her quieted as all eyes focused on the elegant beautician and the stunning Ninetales that stood next to her. "I deeply apologize for the delay. We have not been able to find Vulpix, she seems to have a case of stage fright. It is vital that Vulpix is here to witness the contest and choose her own trainer, so until we find her, please be patient."

The murmurs in the crowd started up again, louder than before. Dorme gave her friends a determined look. "Now's our chance to score some bonus points with Vulpix, we have to find her! Zero, can you sense where Vulpix is?" 

"No, sorry, my pokedex functions have been offline since I came back," Zero sadly replied.

"It's okay, chibi, we're just happy to have you back," Dorme consoled. The five decided to split up to cover more ground through the meadow, except Zero, who went with Ashimi, to make the continual energy transfer between them easier.

Unknown to them, Mont Blanc, alias Summer, was in the crowd that gathered to watch the contest. He saw Dorme and Ashimi but didn't recognize the other two lovely ladies in their company. This was his chance to score some bonus points with Dorme by finding Vulpix before anyone else did and putting in a good word for her with the pokemon.

xoxox xox xoxox

While searching in the wooded areas around the meadow, Mont Blanc saw a lovely Vulpix. "Hello there," he smiled at the creature and tried to call her over, but she ran away. "Wait, come back!" 'That's right,' he recalled. 'I heard Vulpix is shy around males, both human and pokemon. That's why Suzy was looking for a female trainer for her in the first place.' He set his hover skate board on the ground, or rather floating a few inches above it, and jumped on top to give pursuit. The Vulpix turned out to be not only beautiful, but also rare. Her fur was a golden color that was not unheard of, but quite unusual among her kind.

xoxox xox xoxox

Not too far away, Jonathan caught a hint of movement from the corner of his eyes and went over to investigate. He found a Vulpix that was the regular red color that was common among her kind. Her fur was a frizzy mess and her mane and tail refused to retain the smooth curls Vulpix usually had. She certainly didn't look like a princess of beauty, but Jonathan tried to approach her anyway, maybe she was just having a bad fur day. "Here girl, it's okay, I won't hurt you." The Vulpix cautiously approached and allowed Jonathan to pick her up. She seemed to be alright, albeit slightly confused. She sniffed him curiously, then jumped out of his arms and ran away. "Vulpix!"

xoxox xox xoxox

A short distance away, Dorme was searching through some bushes when she spotted a beautiful golden Vulpix. A shabby looking red Vulpix emerged from the bushes next to the golden one and quickly ran off further ahead. Seemingly concerned about why the disheveled member of her species was in such a hurry, the golden Vulpix ran away as well before Dorme could get to her.

Jonathan arrived on the scene and saw Dorme. "I saw a Vulpix and even managed to pick her up, but she took a sniff at me and ran away. I knew this cherry blossom perfume was a bad idea," he grumbled.

"I saw her too but she ran off," Dorme mistakenly assumed Jonathan was talking about the golden Vulpix. "The cherry blossom perfume is fine, in fact, Vulpix probably wouldn't have let you pick her up without it. She must have somehow perceived your own natural scent beyond the perfume when she got a closer sniff and figured out you're a guy. She's shy around boys, remember?"

"She can tell I'm a guy? That kind of makes me feel better," Jonathan admitted.

xoxox xox xoxox

In another area nearby Mont Blanc found the golden Vulpix. The clever fox pokemon kicked a rock at the hover board, making it tilt suddenly as it shifted to pass above it. Mont Blanc was caught off guard, lost his balance and fell. "I can't believe a pro skater would be knocked down by such a simple trick." He got up to find that the mischievous fire pokemon was laughing at him. "You think that's funny? Watch this!" He jumped back on the board and used the surrounding trees as if he was in a skate park. He jumped, flipped and spun in the air, landing perfectly.

Vulpix was amused and clapped her paws together, giggling contently. She approached Mont Blanc, jumped into his arms and licked his face. "Ha ha, I guess you're not so shy after all. Let's get you back to your trainer. When the contest ends and she asks you who you want to go with, make sure you pick Dorme, this is her picture." He showed the pokemon and image on his cellphone. "Don't forget to let her know I put in a good word for her." The golden Vulpix had no idea what he was talking about, but he was amusing, so she didn't mind.

xoxox xox xoxox

Mont Blanc hurried back to the middle of the meadow. Suzy was trying her best to entertain the crowd while her assistants searched for Vulpix. The area was filled with awe and clapping at the talented and beautiful Ninetales.

"I found her!" Mont Blanc loudly announced as he made his way through the crowd towards the front near the stage.

"Oh my, that's a very beautiful and rare Vulpix!" Suzy exclaimed. "But she's not my Vulpix."

"She's not?" Mont Blanc was taken completely by surprise.

"That's a wild Vulpix." An old lady in the crowd who had come to see her granddaughter participate in the contest spoke up. "No one knows how she got to this area, but many have tried to catch her and failed. It looks like she's taken quite a liking to you, young man."

"Sounds like you made a new friend," Suzy smiled. "Thanks for trying to find my Vulpix. Since this golden one doesn't have a trainer, why don't you keep her? Like the lady said, she seems to like you."

"I guess I will," Mont Blanc decided. He offered a pokeball into which the golden Vulpix was willingly caught.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, Dorme and Jonathan had caught up with Volt, Zero and Ashimi, who walked over to them with a shabby looking Vulpix in her arms. The Vulpix seemed uneasy about Zero and Lightning, then her discomfort increased when she saw Jonathan. "We found her, " Ashimi passed the pokemon to Dorme. "She really is shy around boys."

"This isn't her," Dorme held the pokemon anyway and tried to comfort her. "Suzy's Vulpix is golden, she's even more beautiful than I imagined. I saw her, but she ran off."

"Is this a wild Vulpix then?" Zero concluded.

Dorme shrugged, "must be. But look at the poor dear, she could certainly use a trainer to groom her. I can't stand to see this creature suffer like this. It's alright sweetie, I know it sounds unbelievable with how my hair looks now, but I actually have a bit of a frizz problem myself. Like yours, my hair tries to be curly, but doesn't quite make it. Maybe a lightly wavy look is right for you too. I know how to prepare a lot of homemade hair products, not even the salon exclusive lines can compete. It's the stuff I use on my own hair, so I can guarantee it works!" The Vulpix looked doubtful, yet at the same time, a little hopeful. "I'm going to take care of this Vulpix, you can go back to the stage in the meadow and see if the contest is ready to start. Let me know how it goes."

"What?" Volt exclaimed, making Vulpix squeal and bury her face in Dorme's arms.

"Don't scare her!" Dorme scolded. "It's okay, sweetheart, they won't hurt you. These guys are totally harmless wimps, I got them blackmailed good!"

"Hey!" Volt and Jonathan protested.

"What? I'm reassuring her," Dorme defended.

"You could just tell her we're nice guys," Volt grumbled.

"Yeah," Jonathan agreed.

"I know!" Ashimi exclaimed as an idea came to her. "Zero, show Vulpix that boys are not scary."

"How do I do that?" Zero asked.

"Just be your adorable self!" Ashimi smiled.

Dorme gave Vulpix to Zero with a reassurance. "It's okay, there's no such thing as cooties, and if there was, cute little Zero wouldn't have any." Vulpix seemed to calm down a bit, though she was still shy because of the insecurities her uncooperative, fur, mane and tail had given her.

Mont Blanc suddenly arrived looking for Dorme. "My sweet Dorme, I have an early Christmas gift for you." He saw her hair pin and grinned widely. "But first things first, I must honor the long standing Christmas tradition of the mistletoe!" Dorme removed her hairpin and held it over a nearby thorny bush. "That was mean," Mont Blanc frowned, but quickly recovered. "I happen to find a beautiful ultra rare golden Vulpix. I thought she was Suzy's, but it turns out she was wild, so I caught her and I have her right here in this pokeball. I'm willing to share her with you, if you're willing to share your heart!"

"That golden one was wild? Just how many wild Vulpix are there around here?" Dorme wondered in surprise, then her expression shifted to seriousness and she emphasized, "the answer is no."

"I've heard there have been some pokemon that are unusual to this area being spotted near the Fuego Ironworks ruins, but no one really knows how and why they got there," Ashimi voiced. She knew it was only a matter of time before someone from Team Rocket came to investigate.

"I guess that explains why there were two wild Vulpix running around. Speaking of which," Dorme picked up the shabby Vulpix Zero was holding for her. "I already have my own Vulpix."

"That's your Vulpix?" Mont Blanc stared. "But she's... I thought you'd be pickier than that..." He called the golden Vulpix out of her pokeball. "Just look at them, no competition!"

Vulpix whimpered and hid her face while Dorme raged. "Don't you dare insult my pokemon. Your Vulpix is very beautiful, but so is mine! Besides, if she choose you as her trainer, you should be honored and train her yourself. Now apologize to the Vulpixes and leave!"

Mont Blanc was shocked by the speech and could only stumble over a "sorry," before scurrying away, somewhat ashamed.

"That was... unexpected," Volt admitted. "I mean after making such a fuss about hair and beauty."

"Just because a person cares a lot about beauty, doesn't mean they have to be vain," Dorme lectured. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten my promise to you, Volt. Things have just been busy lately, but I'll give you a full hair treatment soon. Just let me take care of Vulpix first. You can be a gentleman and let the lady go first, okay?"

"Take your time." Volt was hoping it was a long time, long enough for her to forget about his hair.

"You guys should head back to the contest. I'm going to shop for berries in town and get started on some homemade hair products for Vulpix. We can meet up at the pokemon center later." Dorme petted Vulpix's tangled mane, or tried to, but her fingers wouldn't pass smoothly through the mess of knots and frizz.

"About that, I assume you're dropping out of the contest because you already have a Vulpix," Dorme nodded and Jonathan continued. "Then why do we have to enter?"

"Because I don't want all my work making you beautiful to go to waste. Don't forget," she pointed at Jonathan, "you're Lala," then she pointed at Volt, "and you're Lulu. Now get out there and do your best!" Dorme cheered. "Ashimi, Zero, you two keep an eye on them and make sure they really try!"

"No problem," Ashimi chirped.

"You can count on us," Zero agreed. Jonathan and Volt could only exchange distressed looks.

xoxox xox xoxox

Later, at the pokemon center guest room, Dorme had fixed Vulpix fur, mane and tail quite nicely with her berry based hair treatments. Vulpix's mane and tail didn't curl like they did for most members of her species, but it now had a soft wavy style that gave her a unique and sophisticated look.

Dorme was just applying the finishing touches with a brush when Volt and Zero arrived, followed by a pouty looking Ashimi and Jonathan. "Look, isn't she gorgeous now?"

Vulpix seemed to be quite happy and no longer extremely shy around boys. She was still a little shy, but not enough to run away or hide her face in shame. Everyone complimented Vulpix, which clearly made her very happy.

"How was the contest?" Dorme asked conversationally while she held up various hairpins and ribbons, trying to decide which would look best on Vulpix. "And what's with all the pouting and frowning? It couldn't have been that bad!"

"They couldn't find the missing Vulpix," Volt removed the voice modifying choker and continued in his own voice. "So they went ahead with the contest and gave away a cash prize instead." He grinned at Jonathan, "miss Lala won. Suzy was quite impressed with her pretty hair and asked if she would consider growing it long then making it into a wig when she got tired of it. Suzy said she would love to have such pretty hair to show in her hair care talks and even asked what the secret was. But pretty miss Lala was shy and said it was just natural. She captivated the audience with her timid cuteness," Volt teased.

"Shut up," Jonathan grumbled. "I only won because Nya's random silliness is so cute." He removed the choker and tossed it aside. "I'm just glad Mont Blanc didn't stick around long enough to figure out who we are."

Dorme laughed, "I told you your hair is special." She tied a cyan ribbon around Vulpix's tail and clipped a matching star shaped hairpin on her mane. "What's up with Ashimi?"

"She's mad because she lost," Zero patted her arm in consolation.

Ashimi slid to sit down on the floor and hugged Zero like a plush toy on her lap. "Correction, I'm mad because I lost to a boy. How could a boy be a prettier girl than me? Shouldn't I be a prettier girl, given the fact that I'm actually a girl?"

That made Dorme laugh even more. Her amusement was interrupted by a knock on the door to their pokemon center guest room. The group quieted and Volt hastily put the wig he had just removed back on.

Ashimi stood and opened the door to find Suzy and Ninetales. "Please excuse us, we're here to find Vulpix." She recognized the contestants. "Ashimi, Lala, Lulu, I apologized for changing the prize of the contest at the last minute. I knew Vulpix couldn't have gone far and that Ninetales could find her daughter if she tried, but I wanted Vulpix to return on her own. She was initially okay with the plan, but then started having second thoughts and I didn't want to force her to go with a new trainer. I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, we understand," Ashimi replied, to which Volt and Jonathan could only nod quietly so as to not reveal their true voices. "That means that Vulpix wasn't wild after all..."

"I can't keep her?" Dorme stood aside and Vulpix was finally revealed to Suzy's line of sight.

The beautician gasped in awe, "Vulpix?" The small red fox made her way over to them and exchanged a few words with her mother let her trainer pet her, then walked back to Dorme. "I don't know how you did it, but you groomed Vulpix a lot better than I could. I tried every hair product I could get my hands on and the most exclusive brands, but nothing worked."

"It's my own hair homemade formula of hair treatments," Dorme proudly declared. "It's all natural made with berries." She couldn't believe such a famous stylist was impressed with her work.

"Looks like Vulpix found a new trainer after all. I've never seen her so happy and confident," Suzy smiled. "That's it, I'm done relying on the brands the market has to offer. I'm going to study how berries work on hair and come up with my own brand of hair products! Please take this, and some for your friends too, as a token of my thanks for helping Vulpix and for the inspiration." Suzy pulled out five golden cards that she handed to Dorme.

Dorme nearly fainted with glee. "Year long passes to Suzy's exclusive spa! It's a dream come true!"

After a short conversation, during which Volt and Jonathan remained very quiet, they exchanged their goodbyes. Suzy stopped at the door, as if something was bothering her and she couldn't leave until she fixed it. "Your wig..." She straightened Volt's wig. "You know, there are cute outfits for boys too..." Then the beautician left along with her Ninetales.

Volt's jaw dropped and his face turned red, "she knew..."

"Relax," Dorme reassured, "she only knows you're a guy, she doesn't know who you are."

"I hope not," Volt grimaced.

"What about me?" Jonathan pouted.

Ashimi mimicked the expression, "I guess you're pretty enough to be a girl, and an even prettier girl than me."

Volt grinned, "at least people know I'm a man."

"At least pokemon know I'm a man," Jonathan countered.

Dorme and Zero just laughed until Ashimi joined them and soon they were all drawn in. "Let's go out and have a big dinner tonight, my treat," Jonathan invited. "But first let me change out of this ridiculous disguise."

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, Daala made her way out of Floaroma Town. She recognized Ashimi, though was she pretty sure Ashimi didn't recognize her. She looked quite different with her curly black hair straightened and dyed a pale lavender. No one in the contest knew who she was. She didn't win, but she wasn't feeling particularly disappointed about it. There was something peculiar about the winner though. She could have sworn she saw the short haired girl somewhere before, but couldn't quite place where or when. She was pretty sure the tall one with the platinum hair, or wig, was a guy, but didn't think she knew him.

Daala released her newly traded Braviary, climbing on his back and instructing the bird with a few directions. Exeggutor had been Janebelle's pokemon, he had a new trainer and a new life now, away from the hardships of the life she chose to continue living. It was time to let go of the past and start anew, seeking to accomplish her goals her own way, without Tornado.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 31: The Fire Furrets are named after the Fire Ferrets from Legend of Korra. 

Chapter 32: Nya is a mutant with her dark element being switched for psychic. She adapted better than her mother, who just turned pink, but still isn't quite like a full psychic pokemon. She's more of a defender than an attacker, she can use a scratch attack, but doesn't currently know any other attacks aside from that. Her other abilities are psychic in element, specifically abilities in the status classification. 

Pikablue is a reference to the new blue pikachu said to be coming along with a detective Pokemon game, and to the time long ago when Marill was rumored to be another of Pikachu's evolutions. 

Chapter 33: The Kyurem shaped jet is a reference to the Blue Eyes White Dragon jet Seto has in Yugioh. Suzy's Ninetales is the same one who traveled with Brock for a while as a Vulpix in the anime. Lala and Lulu are names some of the Slayers characters commonly use when in need of false identities. 

xoxox xox xoxox

Characters

Winter is partially based on Sing Love from Black Rock Shooter. Her artistic name of White Star is also based on the game and on the name of her "clone" Stella. Her mom is named after Stella's sister, Nana. The Rocket Stella has a soft spot for mutated or unusual creatures. She only acknowledges those who seem to have a certain level of unique originality and finds eccentricities and oddities to be interesting. Her Altaria evolved from the Swablu Delia had in Don't Give Me Diamonds.


	12. Chapter 12

Awakening

Chapter 34: Risk

The Kyurem shaped jet landed in the north pole and Ashimi, Zero, Jonathan, Volt and Dorme were informed that the preparations for their grand tour were still underway. They were asked to entertain themselves on the jet until they were ready, apologizing that tours were not something they gave often.

"I think they're trying to Ashimi proof the north pole," Jonathan teased.

"Good luck with that," Volt laughed.

"I'm not going to cause a flood," Ashimi pouted.

"We might as well make good use of our time," Dorme announced. "Since I'm done with my hair and Vulpix's hair, I'll work on Volt's!"

"What?" Volt jumped in alarm.

"C'mon, it won't hurt!" Dorme tried to coax him into sitting still. "I'll make your hair as pretty as Johnny's... Or almost."

"Not as girly please," Volt requested with a teasing grin.

"Me next!" Ashimi exclaimed. "I want to look more like a girl than Johnny."

"I don't look like a girl!" Jonathan pouted.

"Alright, I'll do Volt's hair, then Ashimi's, and you too Zero," Dorme gladly agreed. She began to put some berry scented goop on Volt's hair.

"Awesome, make me look cool," Zero gave a thumbs up.

"You got it!" Dorme cheered as she wrapped foil over strands of Volt's hair.

"I hate my hair," Jonathan grumbled. "I'm going to cut it all off."

"Don't you dare!" Dorme threateningly shouted.

"I don't care anymore, I'll cut it off even if I have to spend the rest of my life dodging bullets!" Jonathan countered.

"Ashimi, do something!" Dorme urged in great distress.

"Me? What can I do?" Ashimi was at a loss.

"Pull rank!" Dorme shouted.

Ashimi looked at Dorme, then Jonathan, then Dorme again and switched between them as if it were a tennis match. "Sorry Johnny," she cleared her throat and spoke in her best badass boss voice. "I order you not to cut your hair or you will be declared a traitor to Team Rocket, exiled and forced to spend the rest of your life digging up fossils and evolutionary stones in a deep dark smelly cave in a distant forsaken land!" Ashimi declared with a great dramatic flair.

"Fine!" Jonathan stood with just as much of a dramatic flair. "Since I'm the only one with perfect untouchable hair, I guess there's no reason for me to be here." He exited the room in a huff.

"Drama king," Volt poked at the foil paper on his head until Dorme slapped his hand away.

xoxox xox xoxox

Jonathan made his way down the jet's hallway thinking about what he could do. Who had manly hair that he could copy? Someone who was well known in Team Rocket? He called Laiki to ask for more information.

"Hi! How's the vacation going?" Laiki cheerfully answered the phone. There was some shuffling in the background and a muffled sleepy voice that was not her own.

"Not really started, but I have a question." Jonathan strained his ears in curiosity to try to hear the voice in the background. "Can you tell me who in Team Rocket has the manliest hair?"

"Just the hair?" Laiki thought for a moment. "I didn't used to break it down to that much detail. I mean, I'm just as observant as ever of the general subjects, but I haven't thoroughly reviewed many subjects recently, except one. Alas, I feel that time has gone by so fast. Oh for those days of endlessly chasing a different man each day," Laiki spoke with exaggerated drama. There was a grunt and a sound of protest in the background. "Kidding, kidding," Laiki giggled.

Jonathan was starting to doubt it was such a good idea to call Laiki after all. He didn't want to end up hearing more than he meant to hear. "How about you just tell me who is considered unquestionably manly?"

"Thor, I suppose, I can't give you a personal review on that one, but well just look at him. A worthy successor to the Team Rocket buffet of manliness." There was a scolding whisper and some shuffling as Laiki giggled some more and sounded as if she was keeping the phone out of someone's reach.

'Thor's hair is too much like Volt's and I can't copy the hair style of someone I hang out with often,' Jonathan mused. "Successor? Oh, you mean Surge." 'His hair is too similar too.'

"Oh no, Surge is certainly a buffet of manliness, but he's the buffet of manliness of Vermilion. I wonder of Volt will eventually grow up to fill those shoes," Laiki started to get off topic. "It won't be easy because Surge is-"

"Focus..." Jonathan insisted.

"Oh right, Team Rocket," Laiki went back to where she had left off. "Anyway, in Team Rocket, we had Giovanni, at least until he retired about ten years ago, he was undefeated in the boxing ring to the last. That whole thing about fighting pokemon himself that Thor does, the boss used to do it too. The outfits were pretty nice too, if I was going to give a description, I would say-"

"Thanks Laiki, I can kind of hear that you're very busy, so I won't steal more of your time. Also, sorry for not considering the time zone before making this call. You were really helpful, bye!" Jonathan hung up in a hurry before having to listen to Laiki go on a long tangent about men. He only wanted to know about manly hair, not about every ecchi detail that Laiki thought was manly about every man she had ever laid eyes upon, and as a well known avid man watcher, that was a lot of men.

Giovanni wasn't someone who he had to stand next to particularly often. There was a regular communication going on, since he was still the boss of Team Rocket and all, but it wouldn't look too obvious if he did copy his hair. With a deep breath and a load of foolish courage and determination Jonathan called Giovanni. 

The Rocket boss answered quickly and asked, "how bad should I expect the flood to be?"

"Flood? Oh no, Ashimi hasn't done anything, they still have us in the Kyurem jet while they get the tour ready," Jonathan explained.

"What is your report then?" Giovanni asked with less urgency.

"Actually..." Jonathan was started to get second thoughts about making that call. Giovanni's seemingly permanent glare transcended the distance and pierced his very soul through the cellphone's screen. Before he lost his nerve, the teenager decided to just get it over with and say what he was going to say. "Please tell me the secret to having manly hair!"

Giovanni stared, his usual glare turning in a confused look for a moment. "What?"

"Manly hair," Jonathan repeated. "I don't like my hair, it's too shiny, and soft, and pretty, and girly, and I even won a contest with it and Ashy got mad because she lost to a boy. My only consolation is that pokemon think I smell like a man."

Giovanni wasn't quite following the logic behind the influx of information. While his anger built up, because it had become a bit slower to trigger over the years, he suggested, "if your hair is such a bother, cut it."

"I can't," Jonathan dramatically replied. "Dorme threatened to kill me if I cut my hair, but I got fed up with it and decided I didn't care. Then Ashy pulled rank and ordered me not to cut my hair. She said I would be declared a traitor to Team Rocket, exiled and forced to spend the rest of my life digging up fossils and evolutionary stones in a deep dark smelly cave in a distant forsaken land! She sounded really boss when she said it. Risking my life is one thing, but I can't forfeit my honor as a Rocket!"

Giovanni wasn't sure if he should be proud of Ashimi for giving irrefutable orders like a boss, or concerned about her choice in what orders to give. None the less, the threatened punishment did have a classic sort of overkill to it that was worthy of the Rocketto clan.

"How loyal, that's sweet," Delia peeked from behind Giovanni's shoulder and almost made him jump in his seat behind the desk, almost. Sometimes she walked so quietly anyone would think she's a ninja. She soon proved that she had been in the office long enough to have heard the whole conversation. "Johnny, sweetie, you shouldn't worry so much, you're a handsome boy and don't you ever doubt it." She encouraged in a motherly fashion. "After all, men don't define what is manly, women do, by expressing their liking, and vice versa. So if you have girls threatening to kill of torture you if you change your hair, you should take it as a compliment."

"I never thought about it that way..." Jonathan smiled, feeling as if a big weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you, I won't forget these words of wisdom!"

xoxox xox xoxox

After Jonathan expressed his undying gratitude for the great revelation and hung up, Giovanni found himself shaking his head. "I should have yelled at the boy for calling me over such a stupid reason."

"I thought you were about to," Delia confessed, which brought the reason for her interruption. "This new generation of Rockets are the future, they're the children of Team Rocket and therefore our children."

"Kids didn't used to make such a big fuss about hair years ago," Giovanni grumbled.

"Says the man who never goes out without making sure his hair is covered in gel," Delia laughed. "Speaking of hair, Ash and Misty have been trying to get into the selfie trend for Ashimi's sake, since every teenager is into it and Ashimi is almost a teenager whose closest friends are teenagers. Misty noticed that Ash's selfies focus more on his hat collection than on his face, which brought up the fact that he has been using hats to keep his hair under control for years and it all made him want to look for alternatives again. So don't be too surprised if he shows up for a man to man talk about hair."

Giovanni picked up his phone and spoke to it slowly and clearly, "New note." The phone beeped and began to record what he said on text on the screen. "Figure out how to use selfies to benefit Team Rocket." Because if there was some important place or influential thing in existence, Team Rocket was out to take over it.

xoxox xox xoxox

Later, a woman with waist length pale blond hair and angular green eyes went to find the group at the Kyurem jet. "Lady Ashimi, agents Dorme, Jonathan, Volt and Zero, I apologize for the delay, I'm here to give you the tour." The young woman expected her young guests to impatiently rush to her, but they didn't. She smoothed non-existent wrinkles on her dark green business suit and tugged a loose strand of hair behind her pointy ears.

She looked very much like an elf, though she was a cyborg, albeit only a light cyborg, as her only mechanical implants were the wireless devices in her ears. She heard shuffling behind a closed door and knocked on it.

"You have to let it sit, don't interrupt the treatment!" A female voice urged.

"Just wear the hats," another girl suggested.

A few more seconds passed and the door finally opened. Volt wore a Raichu hat, Ashimi Pikachu, Jonathan Flareon, Dorme Vulpix and Zero Nidoran. Jonathan had super soft and shiny hair already and Dorme said there really wasn't much else to improve. Zero was virtual, so his hair was already as HD as it could get and the suggestion of getting a treatment was only made to tease Jonathan anyway. As for Jonathan, the teasing had no effect anymore, so they dropped it. No one could explain where he got the sudden burst of confidence. Ashimi, Dorme and Volt however, had their own reasons to wear the hats, to cover the foil containing berry goop on their hair. Jonathan and Zero just wore the hats because the others insisted.

Seeing as her guests had finally emerged from the room, the elf-like woman introduced herself as Elf Claus, which was actually her real name. She made no comments about their hats, she had the habit of wearing a red Santa hat herself, so she wasn't one to talk. She directed the group to follow her out of the Kyurem jet and out of the hangar, into the data processing and office area.

"I'm the head of the north pole operations and also oversee the Santa Claus project. As you might know, the project awards video games to those who have a Rocket Fuel account as Christmas gifts from Santa." Elf pointed to a large server that hummed quietly. "This is the current Santa. Before, Santa was actually a person, my grandfather was the last official Santa. Back then, non-virtual gifts were manufactured by pokemon, mostly Jynx, and delivered on Christmas day. As you can imagine, it was an arduous task and not very cost effective, but my family had been keeping up with the tradition through the ages. The whole nice and naughty list was a myth though, that was determined on the spot via Jynx psychic powers," Elf revealed. Her flawless fair skin, rosy cheeks and petite stature made her look like an adorable and quite harmless elf, though she was in fact a fierce entrepreneur who occasionally worked as a general business advisor to Rocket executives.

"After the poles started to melt, Team Rocket took over to stop them," Elf continued. "By then Santa was mostly just a legend and couldn't keep up with producing high tech toys that kids actually cared to have. Since the Claus family had control of the north pole and a lot of ice pokemon at our side, we joined Team Rocket and prevented massive floods from overtaking the planet. Then we rebooted the Santa tradition with virtual gifts that are easier to mass-produce and deliver, since making one means unlisted copies of them and the delivery is only a matter of bandwidth. Plus the kids do actually enjoy these gifts and we were able to extend the program to adults as well, since copies of the games are unlimited."

Elf finished her explanation and moved to another area. "Part of the deal was for the Claus family to continue working at north pole, so the game development area is in part here, though we work together with graphics designers and programmers all over the world in Team Rocket owned companies. As for the really vital operations of the north pole, here we are." They stood at a tall, glass-encased bridge over a large reactor that exuded a thick cold mist.

"This is one of the reactors that keeps the north pole frozen. We are only looking at the tip of the iceberg as it were. This mechanical wonder is much larger deep beyond the floor we're at. There is another a few miles away that serves as an emergency backup system and is put to work when this one is undergoing routine maintenance. The machines in the south are similar, though the base's only purpose is to keep the pole frozen and it is operated exclusively by Rockets," the twenty-five year old woman explained.

"The north is larger than the south pole in terms of ice mass, making the northern hemisphere generally colder than the south in all areas without climate control systems or factors that create weather bubbles. That is to say, contained areas with weather different from that of its neighboring territories that has little effect in the areas around it." Elf concluded her explanation with a public relations smile. The entrepreneur had a few things planned, but other than the basic tour nothing was really a requirement, so she asked, "what would you like to do next?"

Ashimi jumped forward immediately. "I want to see the pokemon battle!"

"Sorry, for safety reasons, pokemon battles are not allowed within the base," Elf informed.

"But they're battling!" Ashimi insisted. 

"There can't be a battle going on, unless it's a virtual battle. Let's go see the game development area, shall we?" Elf led the group to an elevator and they went up.

The elevator arrived at a higher floor, located above the sea level, and they exited into an area with desks and computers where there was in fact a battle taking place between a Vibrava and Swasbuck. Elf shrieked at the top of her lungs, "stop this at once!"

"Alright, alright, you don't have to yell." A young man with brown hair and matching eyes in a Rocket uniform smiled confidently, as if he could have done this any time. "Swasbuck, mega horn!" The deer pokemon was in his winter form all year long due to living in the cold of the north pole. He rushed towards his opponent, who desperately tried to dodge. With a good jump, the deer's antlers reached the target in mid air and Vibrava fell to the floor knocked out.

A small group of people in Team Rocket uniforms were looking clearly frustrated as one of them recalled Vibrava.

"Why didn't you end this earlier, Rudolf?" Elf growled with a deadly glare. "Pokemon battles are strictly prohibited inside the base and in its surrounding areas. There's an established minimum distance you have to go from the base to battle. You should all know that, given the fact that you've been living here for years and I remind you all the time!"

"Sorry, boss," the tan, brown haired man called Rudolf had turned around to face the irate pointy eared blond. An energy jewel was visible on his forehead with a light glow and something told the spectators that it wasn't just sitting on his forehead for decoration. He was twenty-seven years old and one of the first to get internal wiring directly in his brain, rather than on the skull near the brain. The energy crystal on his forehead not only received and transmitted wireless signals, but also served to collect excess electrical currents generated by the cyborg enhancements, preventing his brain from being overloaded or damaged.

"Don't you 'sorry boss' me," Elf huffed. "Explain yourselves!"

"The usual," another young man spoke up. He had been typing on his computer the entire time, as if nothing could distract him. He had white hair and blue eyes, distinctly human eyes that indicated the shared colors with Winter were pure coincidence, plus his skin was a lot paler than her, unusually so.

"And why didn't you do anything about it, Frosty?" Elf glared.

"I was coding," the pale twenty-two year old pointed at the computer screen. "Besides, Sawsbuck won without Vanilluxe's help anyway."

"That's not the point!" Elf fumed. "Look at this mess! All of you!" She pointed at the grumbling group that had opposed Rudolf. "Clean this up or else you'll learn first hand how fierce a Jynx can be!"

Complaining under their breath, the members of the Flood Prevention Squad started cleaning. Elf let out a breath, smoothed her clothes out of habit and adjusted the R ruby brooch on her green business suit. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled at her guests, as if recalling their existence after the moment of anger was under control. "Sorry about that, let us continue the tour."

"Actually, this reminds me of my mission!" Ashimi exclaimed. "I'm here to unite the north pole under the Rocket flag!"

Elf sighed, "so am I, and it has me stressed out, I'll admit. Let's talk in my office." She led them through the maze of cubicles into an office at the far end of the room. There they sat to continue the conversation with a little more privacy. "All the members of the Flood Prevention Squad have been transferred here to the north. It is my mission to turn them into productive Rockets. I started by dissolving the squad so that there wouldn't be any title differences between them, but it didn't do much. Most of the people formerly linked to Team Magma expect to be treated differently and blame everything on that. They fail to realize that if they're not given credit, it's because they haven't earned it. I'm not going to acknowledge any so called minorities out of pity or for the sake of making myself look fair, by ironically being unfair. After all, Rudolf was with Team Magma when he was a teenager and Frosty is the son of two former members of Team Aqua, and I can tell you they are now truly loyal Rockets who would never go back. They are so well integrated into Team Rocket that people often forget their past or think it's all just false rumors."

During a quiet moment of thought after Elf was done speaking, the door to the office opened and Rudolf strolled in, followed by Frosty, who held a laptop. "I finished debugging the bonus content, plus members of Rocket Fuel can get it on time with their game. I used Rudolf's graphics as planned," Frosty informed.

"That's great, but you could knock, you know," Elf reminded. "Since I didn't have time," more like patience, "to introduce them before, these two are my top ranked game makers and also part of the security team. Rudolf Rednose, who will probably get mad if you call him by his silly surname and Frosty Von Snowman, who probably wouldn't get mad no matter what you call him, since he's so chill." Elf laughed, the two young men were not only part of the group of people she directed, they were her best friends. "Rudolf, Frosty, you already know who our very important guests are."

Frosty set the laptop on her desk and curiously approached Zero. "Of course I know. My greetings to the future Madame Boss and her friends." He stared into the virtual boy's eyes for a moment then gave Ashimi a pleading look. "Can I borrow your little friend? I have an interest in him as a programmer."

"You can't borrow him, but you can ask him to go with you if he wants," Ashimi replied. She had been keeping up the energy transfer for a while and felt that she could continue with the link as long as the distance between them wasn't too great.

"I guess it's okay," Zero decided. "But there better be sweets!"

"Sweets," Frosty mused aloud, "are candy canes and ginger bread cookies good?"

"Definitely!" Zero agreed.

'Aniki, I want some too!' Nidoran cheered.

Ashimi was tempted to tag along with Frosty as well, since there were sweet snacks involved and she was curious about what he might find about Zero. It was odd, but lately she had started feeling as if Zero's abilities had been projected onto her. He still couldn't use his pokedex functions, but she had detected the battle. Elf's following outburst had distracted them from questioning how she knew there was a battle, or maybe they assumed it was all an aura thing, though this was definitely different. Even so, Ashimi couldn't forget her mission to unite all the Rockets regardless of their past and didn't want to be distracted from it.

Before Elf could suggest another activity from the list of entertainment she had prepared, the structure shook violently. "An earthquake?" Volt wondered. He and the others were focused on the movement and didn't notice Ashimi pale and gasp, as if the life was suddenly being drained out of her.

"There shouldn't be," Rudolf replied in alarm. "There are shock absorbers in place all around this building to protect the equipment. Even if there's seismic activity going on, we shouldn't feel it at all."

"That came from within!" Elf gasped. The tip of her long ears seem to vibrate with the flow of data. Frosty and Zero ran back to the office with the former Flood Prevention Squad members crowding behind him. "Frosty, firewall!" Elf ordered the second she saw him. The group remained at the door while Frosty rushed into the office and grabbed the laptop. "Rudolf, go on site, and see if you can isolate the problem. Stop the virus from spreading, everyone else go with him!" Rudolf and the others hurried out of the office.

Jonathan, Volt and Dorme wanted to ask what they could do, but there didn't seem to be much that could be done without a certain level of knowledge on how the facility worked. "We reinforced every physical barrier in preparation for this visit and we get a virus instead? When I catch who's responsible for this..." Elf began to furiously type on her computer, while giving orders that her integrated wireless system delivered like a cellphone. Images flashed through the screen, some from security cameras near the core components of the pole freezing mechanism and others containing graphs related to possible risks and damage control. In the midst of it all was a Porygon-Z named Jingle.

"Ashimi," Zero took her hand and led her out of the office while the others were focused on Elf's screen. The maze of cubicles had been vacated as all the people previously there hurried away to tend to more pressing matters. "You know what this is, don't you? I can feel it, your energy is flowing into me, and my virtual chaotic energy is flowing into you. Aura techniques don't normally affect machines, but with our link, the distinction is blurred."

"I... I know," Ashimi gasped, her breaths were ragged, her vision was blurry and her head hurt like a Machamp's punching bag. "It's my aura mixed with your virtual energy that's transmitting. It's not a virus, they won't find any files in the system. It's a continued transmission from me..."

"Us," Zero corrected, not wanting Ashimi to take all the blame. "If I break the link between your aura will have no effect on machines," he pointed out, though he knew Ashimi would protest.

"No, I don't want to lose you again!" Ashimi argued. "Legendary, whoever you are, stop this!"

"Legendary?" Zero questioned.

"I didn't bring you back on my own," Ashimi admitted. "A presence that called itself a legend helped me. It felt like it was bad, but it brought you back, so it can't be all that bad!"

"Whatever it is, it's hiding from me, I can't feel it. Look, if this place goes down, it'll be a world wide disaster. We can allow that even if..." Zero came to a realization, "even if I'm being held hostage."

"I'll just stay away from the poles," Ashimi resolved. "My aura is short range anyway, so it'll be fine!"

"I'm going back into suspended animation in the data crystal," Zero announced. "You can call me out again when it's safe."

"If you virtualize again you might become more unstable," Ashimi cautioned.

"I know, but use logic," Zero sadly reminded. "If it's the world or me who has to go, then it'll have to be me." He disintegrated into blue code and returned into the crescent moon shaped data crystal Ashimi still wore around her neck.

Seconds passed until Ashimi felt their connection end. Her aura no longer had a way to become digital and thus could not affect machines. No, it wasn't her aura, Ashimi realized, it was the creature inside her being projected through it. "Legend... Who? Why?" She whispered sadly.

xoxox xox xoxox

"It's gone?" Elf exclaimed as Ashimi slipped back into the office quietly.

"Yeah," Frosty repeated, "the virus is gone and the system is back to normal."

A transmission from Rudolf was heard. "All is clear on my end. We managed to manually override some of the mechanisms to minimize the damage. There were no signs of tampering."

"What was that?" Elf breathe. "Rudolf, conduct a detailed search just in case. "No outside influence was detected. Frosty, reinforce the security and try to figure out what in the world just happened. Jingle, help Frosty and stay on full alert." Once Elf was done handing out tasks, she looked at her guests. "I'm sorry, I need to oversee and coordinate the whole process and I need all the personnel at work. There's not much you can do unless you're engineers specifically trained to work at the poles, and with this place on full alert it's not the right time for fun and games. It's too bad because I had a video game making process tour and a climate control science lecture with one of those funny scientists that actually makes it amusing all lined up, along with a whole bunch of other stuff, even a snow ball fight."

"We understand," Jonathan voiced, he looked at Ashimi, noticing how distraught she appeared. "Maybe another time," he placed his hand on her shoulder. He had a feeling that she was upset about more than just missing out on the snowball fight.

Ashimi snapped out of her daze. "Yeah, another time." She couldn't question Zero's logic. If his presence made her a danger to the world, then one of them had to go. She would offer herself, but then Zero would be gone too anyway. She knew her friends cared about Zero, they were all so happy when he returned. But would they see that logic too? Would they feel that they had no choice but to let him go? Ashimi couldn't accept that, and if it was true, she didn't want to hear it. She didn't want her closest friends to tell her to let go, because she simply refused to let go. 

"Where's Zero?" Dorme asked.

Frosty looked around, "he was right behind me when I came."

"He's in the data crystal, for safety reasons," Ashimi vaguely replied. It wasn't a lie, but it was a deceivingly simplified truth. "We'll just go back to the Kyerum jet."

xoxox xox xoxox

Later, at the hangar, "are you sure you want to leave? We'll be on alert until we figure out exactly what went wrong, but I can spare some time to entertain you now that the situation is stable." Elf and a few others stood in front of the Kyurem jet facing Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt. Zero was still in the data crystal.

"It's okay, it's best if we leave. We'll come back another time and tell you in advance when that is," Ashimi smiled, but it was forced.

"If you insist," Elf agreed. "I'll make sure to put some extra rare equipment on your accounts when you get your games at Christmas." Frosty, Rudolf were there beside Elf and several others had curiously gathered to get a glimpse of Giovanni's granddaughter before she left.

Ashimi looked at the group before her, recognizing the former members of the Flood Prevention Squad among them, they were the same who were there when Rudolf was battling. Their differences no longer shone in the time of crisis. "Everyone, don't forget it's because of all of you that the world is not facing a watery doom. There are people nearby who..." Her heart ached for Zero, "who would give their very lives so the world has land to stand on, and it doesn't matter where they came from. All that matters is who they are and what they do." Ashimi and her friends boarded the Kyurem jet and headed back to Viridian City. Though she had gone to the north pole with a mission, Ashimi left feeling assured that it was something that Elf would accomplish herself, plus she had other things to worry about now.

xoxox xox xoxox

The night, while the Kyurem jet flew, Ashimi sat in the cockpit while the Porygon-Z in the system controlled the auto pilot. She kept looking at the control panel, waiting for some alarm to go off, but everything was quiet and calm. There wouldn't be much she could do if Legend decided to crash the jet anyway, not that she thought it would, since it was in it, plus she didn't have her link with Zero to turn aura into data.

Ashimi wondered if bringing Zero back at Viridian City would mean an attempt to take over the equipment there, but she thought it wasn't likely. The Viridian headquarters were heavily guarded and probably on alert after the north pole's report was delivered. Plus if any weapons were compromised, they could be disabled or destroyed. The takeover attempt at the north pole was different because the climate control was very sensitive and couldn't simply be shut down.

'You're waiting for the right moment to strike, aren't you?' Ashimi called out in her mind, but received no answer. It wasn't a psychic communication, as she wasn't a psychic, they were thoughts that only resonated in her own mind and only a being that coexisted with it could hear them. She wondered if the thing that possessed her could hear all her private thoughts or if she still had some mental guards against that. She ran her fingers through her soft red-orange hair, Dorme did a great job with it. She kept it down, framing her face and hiding her cracked earrings. It was foolish and dangerous, she knew it, but no matter what, she wanted Zero back, even if she had to deal with that so called legendary thing to keep him.

The door slid open and Jonathan walked into the cockpit. "What are you doing here, Ashy? Can't sleep?"

"I'm not tired," Ashimi lied.

"No, you're exhausted," she looked away and Jonathan called her name, "Ashley," she felt compelled to look at him again and didn't like his serious expression. His looked soften at her worried face. "Relax, princess, you look like I'm about to beat your deepest darkest secret out of you. I know there's something wrong, and I'd like to help."

"I don't think anyone can do anything." Or at least she didn't think anyone could do anything without sacrificing Zero, and she didn't want to risk that. She knew she was being a fool to insist on doing things her own way, but she was both stubborn and an optimist.

"Try me," Jonathan offered.

Ashimi thought about it and chose her words carefully. "If there was a choice between a big risk with a big loss and an assured big loss..." She trailed into silence, realizing that she was setting things up for a bias answer.

"Taking a risk is better than losing, at least there's a chance." Jonathan answered as logically as anyone would, though he didn't understand where Ashimi was going with all of that.

"And if the assured big loss was only big from relatively few people's perspective, but the risk was big for everyone?" Ashimi mentally shook her head at herself, she was only going in verbal circles and not really saying anything of real substance.

"Would you be one of those relatively few people?" Jonathan asked, still with no real clues about the specifics. That talk about an unknown number of people was, if anything, throwing him off the trail.

"Yeah," 'you too, and our friends' she mentally added.

"Then it'll be worth the risk," Jonathan assured.

"You're right," Ashimi thought that in part she might have only been hearing what she wanted to hear, but only in part. Her friends wouldn't abandon Zero and it's not like she had intentions of dancing with danger for longer than needed. When Zero came back, assuming he did, because Ashimi didn't want to think of the alternative, then he could do some serious debugging. Then, after he was stable enough, he wouldn't need her energy to flow into him anymore and she would tell her father everything. Ash would figure out what that legendary creature was and free her from it. Ashimi could only count on that plan and hope for the best.

"I know that look," Jonathan smiled. "The gears in your head are turning and you're plotting like a boss."

Ashimi smiled as true hope began to take root. "It'll be alright." She was still relieved that Jonathan didn't insist on asking about the specifics. She didn't want to talk about it at the moment, but she would tell him later. "So, what are you doing here? Couldn't sleep?"

"What kind of knight sleeps when the princess is all fidgety?" Jonathan laughed. "With Dorme bragging about the results of her hair treatments and lecturing Volt about maintaining his hair, Volt stuck making all kinds of hair care promises and Zero back in his crystal, I guess they all had their reasons not to notice." A realization hit him and Jonathan felt compelled to ask, "Zero is coming back when we get to Viridian, right?"

"Right," Ashimi assured. 'And if you don't allow it, Legend, I swear I'll exorcise you out of me just so I can punch you!' She silently threatened in her mind.

xoxox xox xoxox

When they arrived at Viridian City, Zero did return. He was uneasy about it, but Ashimi insisted that they wait and see what happened. Fortunately, nothing did. The Christmas holidays came and went joyously, especially for Jonathan, who had been excused from his training with Thor that year, so he could accompany Ashimi on her journey. Gifts were exchanged, food was enjoyed and happy memories were formed that Christmas season.

After the new year's celebrations ended, Ashimi knew she better hurry up and get her final badge, she was cutting it pretty close, so she focused on training hard. Her friends joined her, especially Volt, who was determined to defeat his brother in a pokemon battle. Through the seemingly endless training in early January, Ashimi felt uneasy about how calm things were. Pixel tried to study the flow of aura to Zero, but the machines brought up nonsensical results.

Ashimi worried that Pixel might somehow see similarities with what happened at the north pole and... That was when Ashimi would realize her thoughts were not entirely her own. Pixel wanted Zero to live, she, Comet, Luke and Stella were happy to be able to spend Christmas with him, but they were also loyal Rockets. Would Zero be frozen in a data crystal for safety's sake, to await the emergence of more advanced technology that could stabilize him? How long would that take? Was it even possible? Something made her think that Zero would be lost, something like a terrible inner whisper that tried to influence her choices. The creature she had come to call Legend wouldn't talk to her openly, but it was there, it was always there.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 35: Brothers

Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt had been training hard since the holidays season ended. The break they took was refreshing, even if Ashimi was cutting it close for her final badge. They were full of determination, but like most optimistic people, procrastination sometimes became a part of their lives. This had not escaped Giovanni's notice and for the delay he imposed a penalty: a choice of either working during the Viridian Gym Christmas party or facing Electro in battle, that is Thor himself, not a pokemon battle. Ashimi wasn't one to back down from a fight, so her first reaction was to arm herself to the teeth to try to stand a chance against the general. The effort lasted until word got to Giovanni that his granddaughter was trying to get her hands on some dangerous weapons. He then proceeded to make the choice she was supposed to have made for herself and declared that she would work during the party. He also firmly ordered her to put the bazooka back where she found it.

As for the part about working during the Viridian party, it really wasn't so bad in Ashimi's opinion. She started eating as soon as she got there, while Dorme shook her head in disapproval. "We're supposed to be tending to the guests," the blond reminded. She was wearing a Christmasy red dress with fluffy white at the ends of the skirt and sleeves, black boots with matching white fluff at the knees and a Santa hat. She looked like she could be the daughter of the classic character. "You're the one that got us into this mess. The boss is making us work because of your delay in winning an earth badge."

"I'm working on it," Ashimi didn't sound too convincing with her mouth full of gingerbread cookies. She was wearing boots and a dress similar in style to Dorme's, but it was green and had little golden bells at the end of the skirt and the tip of the hat. Lightning was on her shoulder, wearing a red Santa hat, with an added golden bell at the end to match Ashimi.

Dorme sighed and went to the entrance of the gym. There she found Jonathan and Volt standing left and right of the doors, looking miserable. "How are you guys holding up?"

"My feet hurt," Jonathan complained.

"Mine too," Volt agreed. They were both dressed as toy soldiers, wielding giant candy canes and tasked with greeting the guests.

"It's just for today, hang tough and-" Dorme spotted Electro about to enter the gym and hurried back inside to do her job. Regardless of what he said after the Rocket League training, she felt it best not to let him catch her slacking off.

"Attention! " Electro shouted. Jonathan and Volt straightened and saluted with one hand, holding the five foot long candy canes in the other. The general proceeded inside the gym, looking amused.

A while later, Comet, Pixel, Zero and Stella arrived after having gone to meet Luke, who also arrived with them. Zero was dressed up as a winter Sawsbuck with a red light up nose. He wished his friends luck in getting through the rest of the evening and went off to find Ashimi and Dorme.

"Standing out here until the end of the party... Things can't get any worse," Volt sighed.

"At least you're not in a gladiator skirt," Comet consoled as the group went in. Pixel giggled as of recalling one such occasion in which Comet found himself in such a situation. Stella began to curiously inquire and Comet silently regretted mentioning it at all.

"He does have a point," Jonathan admitted.

"Yeah," Volt agreed. "We need to make sure Ashimi gets her earth badge before the boss decides to make us the next Viridian gladiators." He honestly didn't want to stand at the gym with an armored skirt, a brush on his helmet and a big axe for hours on end. They shuddered at the thought.

xoxox xox xoxox

Zero spotted Ashimi and Dorme who were supposed to be tending to the guests, though Ashimi was mostly eating the appetizers on the tray she held. She stopped and set the tray on the edge of a nearby table, running off. The golden bells on her outfit alerted Dorme, who turned her attention towards the sound. Soon, she too abandoned her tray and joined Ashimi in hugging and petting Zero while fussing about how adorable he was.

After a while of that, Dorme thought it was time to check on the boys. She wanted to be caught under the mistletoe with Jonathan, but that would be impossible if he was just standing there at the entrance during the whole party. Mont Blanc spotted her first and rushed over to flirt. Dorme tuned him out for the most part, until she got an idea. "You know what's awesome?" She interrupted him mid sentence and didn't bother waiting for him to ask what. "Toy soldier uniforms are awesome. It's the most attractive thing a man can wear. Standing there still as statues," Dorme let out an exaggerated dreamy sigh.

Mont Blanc looked as if he was plotting something. "Dorme, darling, I know you're busy working and all, but would you meet me at the entrance in fifteen minutes?"

"I suppose I can make a little time," Dorme agreed nonchalantly.

"Great, see you there," as Mont Blanc left, Dorme grinned victoriously.

She waited for Mont Blanc to go make Jonathan the offer to take his place, waited for the boys to change clothes and waited for Jonathan to be freed of his duties for the night. Then Volt came by a while later, out of the toy soldier costume and in his own formal clothes. "You wouldn't believe my luck, Mont Blanc just showed up and insisted on trading places with me."

"With you?!" Dorme gasped. "But you're taller than him, wouldn't have Johnny's outfit fit him better?"

"He said something about proving who the best toy soldier was. I'm not sure what that was about, but I'm not complaining," Volt grinned happily and went off to check out the food. He waved at Ashimi and Zero as he walked by, who waved back and continued stuffing their faces. Dorme pouted in frustration and decided not to go near the entrance.

xoxox xox xoxox

Later... "There you are!" A plump lady in a formal dress and an overload of jewelry rushed towards Ashimi, dragging a thin boy by the arm. "You disguised yourself as a waitress to blend in, how clever!"

"Um..." Ashimi backed away slowly. It was clear that this woman knew who she was. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met before," she tried to pretend anyway.

The efforts were all futile, as the woman only laughed loudly and pushed her lanky twelve year old son towards her. "This is my son, he's been secretly in love with you since he saw you at the Kojiro's party! Right?"

"Yes, mother," the boy replied with little interest.

"Ah, you found her," an older gentleman with a big mustache approached. "I knew you'd be able to spot her," he grinned.

"Back off!" The woman growled. "I saw her first and she's having a grand time with my son. Aren't you?"

"Yes, mother," the boy parroted again, even if the question wasn't directed at him. He didn't seem to have much in the way of personality.

"Lady Ashimi," a couple called. The wealthy man and woman were dragging a twenty-something young man as they walked. "Let us introduced you to our son!" They chorused. "Please accept his hand in marriage!"

"Mother, father, please," the young man protested, "she's still a child!"

"Well she's going to grow up sometime!" The mother insisted.

"I'm afraid you're too late," the gentleman with the mustache interrupted. "Lady Rocketto is betrothed to my grandson!"

"He's a toddler!" The young man's father argued.

"He will grow up," the man with the mustache countered.

"My son is ready to marry at any time!" The plump woman tugged on the boy's arm.

Just as dull as ever, the boy replied with a tired, "yes, mother."

The arguments continued with more people realizing what was going on and joining in. Ashimi didn't want to get into trouble for damaging the gym if she tried to defend herself with pokemon, so instead she picked up Zero and broke into a run. She saw Dorme conversing with Jessie, James, James' parents and a Machoke in a dress whom she recognized as Alice. By then the multitude of gold diggers was in pursuit like a pack of wild animals. "Run!" She warned.

"Eek!" Dorme took off running, not knowing what was going on.

James and Jessie hugged each other, while James' parents did the same and Alice bravely tried to protect them. After the stampede passed them by, Meowth and Purrloin returned from their trip to the buffet table and found them huddled together. "Humans..." Meowth shrugged and kept looking around the party.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi was still carrying Zero and being followed by Dorme when they saw Volt up ahead enjoying some snacks. "Run!" They shouted, but Volt didn't have time to get out of the way before he got caught in the growing stampede and dragged along with it.

A few feet ahead, Electro was waiting for the right moment to casually walk by with the right timing to catch Stella under the mistletoe. Suddenly her stance shifted into a defensive position, she was immovable. Electro reacted just in time and firmly planted his feet on the floor in a similar defensive stance. Ashimi, Zero and Dorme ran by, followed by the stampede of rich people who left Volt flat on the floor as they dashed off.

Stella curiously watched as Volt slowly began to lift himself off the floor. She extended her hand to help him up, which he took before noticing who it belonged to. "Stella..." Volt gasped in surprise.

She pointed up to the mistletoe and Electro's jaw dropped as he watched the scene unfold. Stella gave Volt a kiss on the cheek and continued on her way, leaving him to smile sheepishly. Electro grunted and stomped away, too embarrassed by the fact that his little brother stole his chance to try to scold him for it.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi, Zero and Dorme went out of the gym. Seeing the stampede coming towards them, Jonathan and Mont Blanc wielded their candy canes in defense. They listened to the demands of the crowd while holding them back. "They want to marry Ashy?" Jonathan realized.

"I don't want to!" Ashimi shouted. She clutched Zero closer like a child clinging to a Teddiursa plushie. "I'm already married!" She tried to make up an excuse and it seemed to finally catch the crowd's attention. They demanded to know who it was. "Zero!" Ashimi blurted out.

"Isn't that a doll?" Someone in the crowd asked.

"It's some kind of high tech android," another person replied.

"Maybe he was made to grow up into her perfect husband!" Someone else theorized.

"You can still marry a regular human!" Another person insisted.

"No!" Ashimi shrieked. "I already have two more husbands! Johnny and Volt!"

"Greedy much?" Dorme pouted. "Take Mont Blanc while you're at it!"

"Dorme..." Mont Blanc paused in shock, then grinned big. "If it's okay with you, I'll sign up for the princess' harem, but I'll still be available for you," he winked.

"The scary part is that I don't even know if he's kidding," Dorme breathed.

"Take my son too!" The plump woman yelled.

"And my grandson!" The man with the mustache shouted.

"This is completely crazy, I don't want a harem of random rich boys!" Ashimi yelled.

"What is the meaning of this?" A sudden strong voice interrupted the chaos. Giovanni made his late arrival with Delia. The crowd tried to answer him all at once, then fell completely silent under his deadly glare. "Is there a reason why you insist on pestering this waitress?"

Many murmurs erupted from the crowd until they all merged into one question. "Isn't she your granddaughter?"

"No," Giovanni replied simply, making the mob feel very stupid. "All the gym parties are held simultaneously as per the Pokemon League's tradition. Ashley is at Cerulean City this year."

Embarrassed, the mob went back inside the gym and dispersed. Giovanni stepped inside stopping at the doorway. It seemed that Summer had taken Volt's place at the door, but it didn't matter anyway. "Aren't your shifts just about over?" Without waiting for a reply, Giovanni continued on his way.

Delia smiled with a simple yet meaningful, "have fun," and also disappeared into the party.

Ashimi gave the happenings some thought and wondered in a whisper. "Do you think that rather than a punishment this was so that we could enjoy the party without being pestered?"

"Only you would have been stalked and maybe Johnny if they figure out who he is," Dorme shuddered at the thought. "I hope that never happens. But I suppose we're all in this together, so yeah, I guess that's possible..."

"Either way the point is our shift is over and I finally get to change out of this costume!" Jonathan cheerfully left. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"This outfit's kind of cute, it grew on me, so I'm keeping it on," Dorme decided.

"I'll stay like this too, better not risk my identity," Ashimi agreed.

"I..." Zero began, but the girls eyed him immediately and he knew they wanted him to keep the Sawsbuck costume light up red nose and all. "Me too, I guess."

"I'm staying in costume too," Summer announced, despite the clothes being too large for him, as they were made to fit the taller Volt. He waited for Dorme to make a comment, but she said nothing as she went back inside, hand in hand with Zero.

Mont Blanc pouted and huffed. "Chibi virtual androids have all the luck."

xoxox xox xoxox

With the Indigo League drawing ever closer, Ashimi's training continued. She took a break only for a short time to watch Volt's battle with Electro. They met up at the underground forest where the engineered trees glowed and the fierce Beedrills attacked anyone who dared to summon a pokemon. "Go Electabuzz!"

"So the little guy evolved," Electro grinned. "Electivire, time for a rematch!"

"He just needed some confidence and to train at a balanced pace," Volt replied as the buzzing of the Beedrills got ever closer.

"Electivire, thunder punch!" The massive pokemon launched forward with a powerful attack.

Volt saw the seven Beedrills coming from the side to attack Electabuzz. "Dodge and use shock wave!" Electabuzz jumped aside to avoid the punch, using his electricity to make the Beedrills back off. Another punch came and he backed away. Volt knew it would be bad if he was caught between Electivire and the Beedrills. "Shock wave, don't stop!"

Electro shook his head, "you're just tiring him out." Then something surprising happened, the Beedrills turned on Electivire. "Shock wave!" The Rocket general hastily commanded, trying to push the Beedrills away. The buzzing insects retreated, though their armor protected them and so far none were knocked out.

As the Beedrills backed away, Electabuzz emerged, charging forward, "thunder punch!" He ran through the group of retreating Beedrills and connected a direct hit to Electivire's face. 'The Beedrills don't see us as the weakest target anymore,' Volt thought in satisfaction, 'that should help even things out.'

The Beedrills regrouped and buzzed around overhead, as if debating who to attack next. They launched at Thor, "electro ball!" The general reacted quickly and gave a command as he turned and punched the first Beedrill that made it to him. Their charge halted and they buzzed away, varying their knocked out companion. Two of the bees carried the fainted one away, while the others buzzed for reinforcements. Five more Beedrills joined the four that remained, and having taken their ally to safety, the two others returned. At the same time, Electivire shot a series of electro balls.

"Shock wave!" Electabuzz used his electricity mostly as a way of defense to slow the electro balls enough to dodge them.

The eleven Beedrills grouped together and decided to attack Volt. They dove at him, sharp stingers ready to strike. "Focus on the battle," Jonathan called.

"Yeah, we'll take care of the Beedrills!" Ashimi agreed.

"Right, you can count on us," Zero added.

"Win this and make sure you post a really good victory selfie with your cool new hair!" Dorme cheered.

"Thanks!" Volt focused on trying to come up with a good strategy. If Electabuzz used up all his energy in the defensive, it wouldn't be long before Electivire knocked him out. Electivire made a small pause after the onslaught of attacks and Volt took the opportunity, "use barrier and charge in!"

Electro was determined to make him regret the bold move. "Focus punch!" The attack, coming from the general's strong pokemon, was known as an instant knock out.

"Iron tail!" With a quick movement, in a split second, Electabuzz spun around and slapped Electivire's fist away. "Rolling kick!" Without stopping the fluid motion, he delivered a swift strong kick.

Electivire stumbled back, the Beedrills decided they had enough of attacking the humans, who determinately fought back, and even managed to knock out another of their troops. The deadly insects instead turned their attention to the pokemon again. They buzzed around, releasing highly toxic dust into the battle zone. The poison affected both Electivire and Electabuzz.

"Thunder, at the Beedrills!" Electro called out with urgency. Electivire roared angrily and released a massive burst of electricity at the armored bees. Two more Beedrills were knocked out, pushing their numbers down to eight. As before, they removed their fallen companions from the battle field before attacking again. "Earthquake!

Just as Electabuzz was about to attack, the ground shook violently. The vibrations seemed to be absorbed by the mutant trees of glowing leaves and they shook, their branches moving as if they were alive. More leaves began to fall, bathing the dim area in brightness. The eight Beedrills flapped their wings, creating a whirlwind that carried the razor sharp leaves over the battle field. "Dig!" Volt and Electro called out at the same time.

The pokemon buried themselves while the humans ran to find shelter, until the wind died down and the leaves fell. The leaves on the ground glowed as if something in them had been activated and they stuck to each other making it very hard to move. "What is this?" Volt dragged his feet over the leaves after the storm had passed. It felt like walking on quick sand.

"A trap, and you fell right into it," Electro laughed. "In this forest, you need to expect the unexpected!" Electivire emerged in the surface, breaking through the barrier of leaves. Tree roots wrapped around him and he struggled to get loose, but finally made it out. "The trees here have been infused with Sudowoodo DNA and sometimes attack when they feel threatened."

"Electabuzz is still down there..." Volt's eyes widened as he rushed towards the battle zone. "Electabuzz, head to the surface, try your best! It's okay if we can't win this time, we'll keep training, just come out alive!"

"He might be alive, but definitely not conscious," Thor explained. "The trees won't release him until they feel he fainted."

The leaves moved and were torn through and Electabuzz's hand desperately reached up to the surface. Oxygen flowed to him through the opening and he could hear his trainer more clearly. "Fire punch to the surface!" The trees might have been infused with Sudowoodo DNA, but they were still trees, so they were more comparable to grass types. The roots that held Electabuzz retreated and he finally surfaced. Both Electavire and Electabuzz were covered in cuts and bruises, their breaths were labored and the poison in their bodies was making their senses fade. "Electabuzz, do you want to stop?" Electabuzz considered it and shook his head no. Volt had understood that pushing him only made him nervous, but taking away the pressure and leaving the choice to fight up to him gave him confidence. "Alright, let's win this!"

"You've lasted longer than I thought, but it's over now!" Electro exclaimed. The battle turned into a fierce brawl with commands being continuously issued, attacks flying out in rapid succession, dynamic punch, hammer arm, brick break, focus blast.

The remaining Beedrills converged overhead and attacked with pin missiles, but the two electric pokemon were too focused on their battle to dodge the rain of needles. "Focus punch!" Both brothers called out at once. The hits connected and the Beedrills stopped their attacks as if they were compelled by an irresistible curiosity to watch the outcome of the battle.

Finally, Electivire fell to his knees fighting against the darkness that overtook his senses. He shot one last blast of electricity that pushed Electabuzz back from their close proximity. Electivire fainted and the exhausted Electabuzz struggled to dizzily stand, only for cold darkness to claim him too. "A tie," Volt breathe as he recalled his pokemon.

"You won," Electro decided as he too recalled his pokemon. Any further conversation was cut off by a very loud buzzing sound. Another armored Beedrill arrived, his armor different from that of the others, he was the king of the underground forest. He buzzed loudly in a rhythm as if sounding off a battle march. Three Butterfree emerged from the trees circling the trainers below. "We've overstayed our welcome," Electro warned. "Let's go!" He hurried to lead the others to the nearest way out, dodging traps as he went.

The three Butterfree princesses flapped their wings and multi-colored dust was released from them, making their surroundings become a psychedelic kaleidoscope. The trainers coughed as the dust reached them just as they got to the exit.

They climbed out through a secret elevator hidden in a hollow tree and found themselves in the surface of the Viridian Forest. The world felt like it was spinning with swirls of color all around, it left Ashimi, Jonathan, Volt and Dorme with no sense of balance. Zero was supposed to remain unaffected due to his peculiar nature, but his connection with Ashimi's energy didn't work in his favor this time, as her dizziness also reflected on him.

Thor was very strong and had a stronger resistance to such chemicals, so he was able to stand. "Looks like you actually managed to do it." Electro voiced, "well done, brother." He left those few yet meaningful words to hang in the air as he walked away and quietly added, "I'm proud of you, Volt."

Volt, Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Zero could only lay in the grass and hope that the world would stop spinning and changing colors soon. Volt thought he heard his brother's voice, but his head was pounding and strange echoes bounced in and out of his ears, so he wasn't entirely sure, yet something in his heart told him those words were real. Electabuzz had won, the pokemon his brother gave him, who had become one of his inseparable companions. Volt smiled as the world spun into oblivion, "Thank you, brother..."

xoxox xox xoxox

Later... Jonathan, Dorme, Volt and Zero watched as Ashimi trained Chari. She was in a chamber with a holographic projection of a Machoke. The hologram was equipped with electrical currents that made the hits feel real. Chari stood with her wings close to her back, as she was not to use them or her fire during the training match. This training consisted of physical attacks only, the elemental attacks had already been practiced and refined in previous training sessions. Ashimi stood behind the hologram with video goggles that allowed her to see from the Machoke hologram's perspective, plus electronic boots and gloves to control the Machoke's movements. The rest of her pokemon were standing in the sidelines a bit beat up from the effort of their own training sessions, but feeling strong and satisfied.

"Again!" Ashimi pumped her fist in the air and the Machoke mirrored her actions. "Here I go!" She began punching and kicking with a fast rhythm. Ashimi only felt a light tap when the hologram got hit, so she could use it as a guide, but Chari would get the equivalent of the full hit. The pokemon insisted on this, so Ashimi could continue training them continuously without getting hurt. The exercise used the principals behind move tutoring, in which a human with a certain level of understanding could teach a pokemon with detailed explanations and training exercises even if they might not be able to perform the move themselves. The fact that these were physical moves made it a lot easier to teach them by tutoring, since the ability to control an element such as fire, water, or electricity, wasn't a requirement.

They continued for a long time until they were both breathless. "Ashimi removed the goggles and checked the time. "We should get everyone healed up and ready, then we'll have just enough time to rest and relax a bit." Chari agreed and tiredly made her way off the platform and jumped into her pokeball, the other pokemon were also recalled, save for Lightning who hopped on Ashimi's shoulder. 

The group made their way to the clinic within the Viridian base, talking as they walked. "Feeling ready, princess?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes and no," Ashimi admitted, "I mean, yeah I'm able and willing to face any challenge, but I don't have that victory guaranteed feeling of confidence. But I'm determined to struggle along and win."

"Understandable," Dorme nodded. "But you know, Volt scored a victory with Thor against all odds, so maybe you'll be able to beat Giovanni even if he's battling a lot harder than he would for regular trainers looking for a badge. After all, you're an even stronger trainer than Volt, didn't you beat him twice?"

"Once," Volt corrected. "That second battle can hardly count."

"I think you can do it," Zero assured, "you've been training a lot and all the pokemon have become stronger." That went for all their pokemon, as they too had been training alongside Ashimi.

'Aniki is right!' The newly evolved Nidorino agreed.

"You've been training yourself alongside the pokemon too," Jonathan observed. "That should make you a better strategist and quicker to react."

"Where did you learn that fighting style you used for the hologram?" Volt curiously asked.

"From a book grandpa let me borrow, it was a handwritten book from his years as a fighter, he used to fight pokemon himself and everything. I modified it a bit to fit each pokemon's shape, but it all uses the same basic style," Ashimi explained. "I used the hologram though, because if I tried to do it myself my pokemon would pummel me to dust," she joked.

"At least until you learn to shoot balls of aura energy from the palms of your hands," Jonathan laughed.

"Oh yes, I intend to learn that one day. Then I'll stand on top of Mount Silver and shoot out a huge blast of energy while yelling kamehameha, just for the fun of it," Ashimi laughed. She didn't know that she would end up going to Mount Silver a lot sooner than that.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 36: Battle Royale

Ashimi found herself at Mount Silver, standing at the summit across her grandfather. "This time we battle for real, I expect that you've trained enough to bring a better challenge than last time. There's no need to hold back here. The rules are up to you."

Ashimi was surprised by the opportunity, and thought about what kind of rules she wanted. Nothing too complicated, she had enough to watch out for as it was. "Six pokemon," she finally replied, that should maximize her chances of victory. Though Giovanni would also have the same number of pokemon at his disposal at least she had more choices and the chance to come up with a long term strategy. Then an idea occurred to her. "At the same time."

Giovanni considered her words and a grin spread across his face. "A battle royale," that would be interesting indeed. "Very well then, go," he signaled for the female Persian that stood beside him. Purry stood between the two trainers and was soon joined by five others who emerged from red beams of light out of their pokeballs. The male Persian, who was Giovanni's lifelong companion yawned and sat comfortably at his master's feet to watch the battle. A Rhyperior, a Machamp and surprisingly a Porygon-Z materialized, but that was just the beginning. Aerodactyl appeared, followed by a pokemon that seemed to be a cross between Kabutops and Genesect. It was Giovanni's version of the armored pokemon, which retained noticeable features from the original form, such as the scythes. 

'No digging,' Ashimi thought. She had seen what Giovanni's earthquakes could do outside of the gym and this was no ordinary gym battle, the tunnels would collapse too quickly, crushing the pokemon inside. She'd have to come up with an effective defense though, and having all her pokemon out at once made that a little easier.

"Rhyperior, poison jab on the Pikachu," Giovanni began the attack.

"Clefable, telekinesis, Lightning, volt tackle Kabutops!" Ashimi responded. Clefable lifted Lightning over Rhyperior and set him at a course with his target.

"Kabutops, flash cannon!" Giovanni defended.

"Telekinesis! Smoke screen!" In her rush, Ashimi didn't specify who the orders were for, but she didn't really need to. Clefable hurried to get Lightning to safety, while Chari covered his retreat. The beam from the canon was massive and Lightning just barely got out of the way. 

Kabutops still retained his original appearance for the most part, but he had the power of Genesect. "Icy wind!" At Giovanni's command, Kabutops called forth a freezing wind that blew away the smoke and chilled his opponents.

"Heat wave!" Ashimi countered. Chari tried to warm the area, while Kabotops continued to chill it. "

"Persian, shadow ball, on all of them," Giovanni commanded. Purry let out a series of attacks in rapid succession. The male Persian sitting beside Giovanni grunted from the sidelines, a bit jealous of his mate. He was supposed to be Persian, she was just girl, as Giovanni never called her by her original nicknamed of Purry from when she was Pixel's pokemon. Albeit the male Persian could understand the reason for the distinction, Aerodactyl was a girl too after all, it still bothered him.

Ashimi knew that simply dodging would be useless. Purry's ruby horn was glowing and the shadow balls flew around in unusual patterns as if homing in on their targets. It was time to increase the defenses. "Everyone, fall back, Clefable, light screen!" The pokemon retreated to surround Clefable and become enveloped in her protection. "Lightning, thunder wave! Golbat, super sonic!" The pulses of electricity disrupted the shadowy projectiles and the super sonic waves interfered with their signal source, Purry. "Clefable, hang back and alternate between light screen and reflect as needed."

So far Ashimi had put on some very good defenses, but Giovanni was determined to break through them. There were several Porygon-Z in Team Rocket's control that were linked to satellites. They all had different code names for distinction. This one was made for battle, "Maverick, satellite beam!"

Ashimi's eyes widened as the skies lit up, "everyone, charge!" She shouted, pointing across the designated battle area. All the pokemon rushed forward and chaos broke loose. Yet it was the only way to keep them safe from the satellite. A large laser beam crashed into the mountain top, leaving a crater in front of Ashimi, where her pokemon stood not long ago. She had to take out that Porygon-Z, and until she did, she had to stay close to the opposing team, so that the weapon would backfire if it was used. 

"Machamp, close combat! Persian, night slash! Rhyperior, stone edge! Aerodactyl, iron tail! Kabutops, super power! Maverick, gravity!" Giovanni called out in a hurry, as Ashimi's whole team rushed forward to avoid the hit from the satellite's laser beam.

Being the strongest physically, Chari didn't think twice before charging towards the imposing Machamp. She didn't need to be told what to do, as she had practiced it before. She moved closer, and as the Machamp attacked, she used her wings to quickly propel herself in a back flip and hit Machamp with an iron tail uppercut that made the fighter stagger back.

Furball saw this as an opportunity to prove himself. He had battled his mother before, but she always won with ease and kept telling him to train harder. Yet the Meowth knew he had no advantages. Purry, being a Persian, was bigger, stronger and more experienced, with sharper claws and a ruby horn, rather than a flat gem like Persians normally had. "Furball, toxic and don't stop moving!" The feline took off at his trainer's voice, releasing purplish toxic mist as he went. Purry was quick to give pursuit.

"Double thunderbolt on Purry!" Furball released his electricity just as Purry caught up and tackled him. She was hit with a double charge of electricity, the other attack coming from Lightning, but resisted, yet it was enough to weaken her stance. "Hydro pump!" Wartortle shot a strong beam of water that freed Furball from Purry's grasp and threw her a few feet back. "Keep using toxic, Furball!" With no worries about who got caught in it, Furball continued to spread his poisonous mist.

As sharp stones began to protrude from the mountain, those who could fly took to the air. Clefable scrambled to dodge despite the gravity slowing her movements. It wasn't so bad, since they had trained in high gravity before, but due to the speed of the powerful attacks, Clefable was still unable to dodge and fight back at the same time among the chaos.

"Golbat, shadow ball Rhyperior!" The bat did so continuously until Rhyperior's attack ceased and Clefable caught her breath. Due to the proximity of the combatants, Furball's poison inevitably reached everyone, but he knew that wouldn't be a problem, since Clefable was there to heal their allies. "Clefable, heal bell! Golbat, back her up with shadow ball!" Clefable began to heal her allies of the poison, leaving only the opposing team to suffer its effects.

Aerodactyl dove into the heat of battle and swung her massive tail, which had taken a metallic texture as she attacked. The pokemon on the ground tried to move out of the way of the incoming attacks, but the heavy gravity that came because of Maverick, made it require more effort that it normally would. Even if they were doing alright for now, Ashimi knew that it would all pile up.

"Wartortle, hydro pump and ice beam, on Maverick!" The water pokemon alternated between the attacks, aiming at where Ashimi was pointing, though the Porygon-Z was not in his line of sight, due to the chaos that separated them. With the water being rapidly followed by the freezing beams, sharp shards of ice were formed. The cold projectiles traveled across the battle field, opening up a path towards the target. It was a small opening, but it was enough.

"Golbat, aerial ace!" The bat speedily rushed forward, dodging stray attacks from the chaotic battle royale until he reached Maverick. "Acrobatics and steel wing!" Golbat remained continuously on the move with his fast acrobatics, his wings were covered in a metallic texture as he continued to attack Maverick.

Giovanni shifted his focus to the Porygon-Z. "Maverick, defense curl!" The battle royale was more challenging than he thought, and to top it all up his pokemon were poisoned. Ashimi's pokemon were clearly used to training together and she never really changed her main team, which made them get used to each other. That minimized accidental attacks on allies among the fast paced chaos and increased their opportunities to successfully help each other. Giovanni knew that he had the advantage in power, but Ashimi's defenses had certainly improved.

Since Clefable had finished her part of using heal bell and no longer needed Golbat to watch her back, she could defend herself and contribute to the battle. "Clefable, meteor mash! Chari, smoke screen!" The smoke Chari produced covered not only the area where she fought Machamp, but also where Clefable had rushed in to face Kabutops as he chased after Lightning, rapidly swinging his scythes. Kabutops didn't see the attack coming and it was a direct hit. The prehistoric pokemon angrily blew the smoke away with an icy wind, but went on the attack at the first hint of movement before the smoke had cleared enough to actually see what it was. The sharp tip of his scythe reached Machamp, who angrily fought back. Above them, Chari flew, holding Clefable out of reach as they both chuckled.

"Kabutops, Machamp, stop this instant!" Giovanni's scolding voice made the two pokemon back away from each other. He continued ordering attacks among the chaos.

"Wartortle, spin and use aqua tail!" The move cleared the space around the water pokemon, making the attackers back away momentarily. "Hydro pump, spread it out nicely!" The strategy may seem puzzling at first, as spreading the attack would diminish its power. "Furball, water pulse! Watch his back Lightning." Pretty soon the combatants were all wet. "Retreat!" The pokemon backed away, back towards the crater where the satellite struck before.

Giovanni thought that the opportunity was too easy, but he tried to take it anyway. "Maverick, satellite beam!"

"All out super sonic and double thunderbolt!" Ashimi called out in a hurry. Before Maverick could activate the weapon in the atmosphere, Lightning and Furball went all out with their electric attacks. Golbat joined in with super sonic waves to which the opposing pokemon were more susceptible while being electrocuted. Ashimi sent more pokemon on an all out attack before the opposing team could recover. "Chari, fire blast! Golbat, gust!" Chari's flames blanketed the battle field as she released a series of powerful fire blasts. Golbat's gust fanned the flames, making the attack inescapable.

Through the flames and all, Giovanni's pokemon were still following his orders, attacking relentlessly and charging into the crater. "Satellite hologram!"

The satellite activated again. The pokemon were all too close to each other for the laser attack to be effective without hitting both sides, but it could still be used as a distraction. Holographic images of Maverick, Purry, Rhyperior, Aerodactyl, Kabutops and Machamp appeared, creating confusion with the fake doubles.

"Golbat, super sonic, give it all you have!" Golbat released his super sonic waves as per Ashimi's counter strategy. The holographic images flickered with the interference. The pokemon could tell apart the fakes, but Golbat was kept busy in his efforts.

Giovanni decided that keeping up the hologram wasn't worth it just to keep Golbat busy and Maverick could be put to better use joining the battle along with the other pokemon. "Maverick, electro web!" The Porygon-Z shot electrified nets to try to entrap the other pokemon. He didn't have a clear path to all of them from the ground and Golbat was still disrupting the satellite signal. Accessorizing pokemon with satellites and advanced armor was seen as illegal in official battles, but this wasn't as much an official battle as it was a test, though a badge could still come out of it.

Maverick's electro web shot out towards Golbat, who speedily dodged it. The virtual pokemon then shot at Wartortle, who was too busy fighting off Kabutops to dodge, and instead withdrew into his shell and used iron defense to minimize the damage of the electric web wrapping around him. Kabutops tried to pound on his shell to make him come out, though Giovanni saw a better strategy. "Kabutops, flash canon!"

The armored prehistoric pokemon aimed his canon at the opening on Wartortle's shell. "Lightning, give Wartortle a light shock to free him! Clefable, telekinesis on Kabutops!" Clefable jumped back and focused her psychic powers on Rhyperior and Kabutops at the same time, defending Wartortle and herself. Lightning and Furball had stayed close to compliment each other's attacks. Furball faced Purry, who had been chasing them, to give Lightning some time to free Wartortle. The delay in Kabutops' attack thanks to Clefable was enough for Wartortle to regain his bearings. "Hydro pump!" His head popped out of his shell and he assaulted Kabutops with a strong hydro pump point blank, that pushed him back several feet.

Furball had become trapped and was squirming to escape Purry. 'I can't go easy on you,' she reminded.

'I know,' Furball replied, 'and I'm not asking you to.' He was just as feisty as his mother, though he hadn't been through the battles she had. Dark pulse, water pulse, thunderbolt, nothing worked to free himself.

'Train harder,' Purry advised. She released and electric attack that overtook Furball's senses, but he refused to faint.

Furball heard Ashimi saying something, but he couldn't make out her words. Lightning was there, aiming his thunder attack at Purry. The Pikachu was getting closer in an attempt to free his friend, who remained pinned to the ground. Purry batted Lightning away with an iron tail attack. Ashimi looked across the battle field, everyone was busy, but she couldn't be the first to lose a pokemon, numbers and complementary attacks with team work were her only chance.

"Golbat, use shadow ball, then steal wing and aerial ace on Purry!" The bat hurried off on the attack. The shadow balls were little more than a distraction, then Golbat flew in combining steal wing and aerial ace to collide with Purry with great force, despite the thunderbolt she released as a counter attack. It was enough to make her lose her grip on Furball, and the Meowth hurried to escape.

Golbat dizzily landed, sore and unable to take off fast enough. Purry recovered quickly and used night slash. Golbat was hurt badly, and though Ashimi was urging Lightning and Furball to help him, she knew that reaching him among the chaos was no easy task. "Double thunderbolt!" Lightning and Furball released their full electrical power on Purry, who responded with the same element. Golbat took the opportunity to snap out of the pained daze and take to the air.

Seeing this as an opportunity to get rid of the interfering bat, Giovanni commanded, "Persian, horn attack on Golbat!" Hearing her master's voice, Purry ceased the counter attack despite the electricity still directed at her and jumped to an impressive height that Golbat couldn't have anticipated. Her ruby horn stabbed into the center of the bat's body, glowing with a light water pulse that Ashimi didn't think made sense.

The energy was pushing outward, the water softly rippling out with gentleness that didn't match the attack. Then Ashimi realized what it was. Purry was lethal, but this wasn't a fight to the finish. She was purposely dulling her attack, to make it effective, but not deadly. Golbat fell in defeat, fainted. 'No...' Ashimi thought, she had lost a pokemon and had not been able to eliminate any from the opposing team yet. "Golbat return!" She recalled him before he was trampled in the chaos. "You did well, your efforts won't be in vain."

Purry looked quite at home in the chaos. That was how it was in her time as a Meowth. She was left scarred with even her coin-like charm being broken on one side and sharpened. Yet what past injuries didn't kill her made her stronger after she met Pixel and followed her for the sake of being closer to her secret crush, the Rocket boss' pokemon. Evolution left her looking regal and flawless, except for the deformity of the ruby on her forehead that was a horn instead of a gem. A freak by the standards of a wild Persian, but a rare beauty by human standards and also in the eyes of a more refined pokemon of her kind.

Furball was shocked to the point where Lightning had to nudge him to get him to react. The Meowth wanted to prove to his mother and to everyone that he was strong. Yet his mother's level seemed so unreachable as she fought among the chaos looking like a mythological combination of lioness and unicorn. 'I know it's a high goal to reach, but you can do it,' Lightning encouraged.

'Right, I won't give up,' Furball was determined. He knew that Lightning could relate to him, given who his parents were, and if his friend wasn't giving up, neither was he.

"Maverick, holograms! Aerodactyl, dragon claw!" Giovanni continued the attack. The flying prehistoric pokemon clawed at the combatants below. Lightning and Furball dodged left and right, but Aerodactyl was relentless.

Ashimi was thinking about how she should respond when she realized she shouldn't. She couldn't just fight back, she had to take control of the battle and lead the effort. First she would take out the satellite's controller and get rid of those confusing holograms. The real pokemon were so close to the projections that it was hard to determine which was giving off the living presence, as her aura sense wasn't that precise yet. "Lightning, quick attack on Maverick! Furball, shadow ball on Aerodactyl!"

The Meowth tried to keep the flying dinosaur busy by shooting a shadow ball whenever he wasn't too busy dodging the predator's claws. At the same time, the Pikachu slipped away and dodged the other fighters as he progressed towards the Porygon-Z, making good use of his speed.

"Maverick, zap canon!" The Porygon-Z shot several beams that Lightning speedily dodged. Even the holographic double was shooting and the Pikachu wasn't taking any chances on miscalculating which attack was real. He could figure it out by attacking, but he didn't want to slow his pace.

"Thunder wave!" As Lightning got closer to his opponent, he released his electricity and disrupted the hologram, while creating an opening to attack the real Maverick at close range.

"Zen headbutt!" Giovanni reacted quickly, calling for a change of tactics. Maverick fought back, trying to hit Lightning.

"Careful, Lightning, keep dodging!" Ashimi had seen her grandfather battle before and watched many videos with her pokemon, so his pokemon's movements in close combat were not unknown. She watched for an opening as Lightning made good use of what he had learned in his recent training. "Thunder iron tail!" Lightning flipped suddenly and simultaneously released his electricity while hitting Maverick with his now metallic tail. The attack was very strong and the Porygon-Z was thrown back and didn't get up.

"Aerodactyl!" Giovanni called out. The fossil pokemon noticed what had happened and ceased her pursuit of Furball. She picked up Maverick and set him on the sidelines, then returned to the battle.

'Why not just recall him?' Ashimi quietly wondered in confusion. She didn't have much time to dwell on it though, as the battle was still progressing and she had to decide what her next target would be.

Kabutops was a danger, Ashimi knew he had not shown his full power. It would take all her remaining pokemon to take him out, but if they had to deal with the others at the same time that would make the task even more challenging. Aerodactyl had the air advantage, flying high and low at intervals to attack while staying out of harm's way. Chari could battle her in the air one on one. "Chari, air slash up to Aerodactyl!"

The Charizard took to the sky when Aerodactyl's altitude had increased. The fossil pokemon went higher trying to dodge. "Dragon claw!" Both Ashimi and Giovanni called out at the same time. Chari and Aerodactyl began to claw at each other wildly, the battle was truly fierce!

'I have to be the one to make the first move, to control the pace of the battle, it's the only way I stand a chance,' Ashimi thought, but it would not be easy. "Wartortle, hydro pump and ice beam at Machamp!" The water pokemon's first two attacks didn't quite make it through the chaos of the battle field to hit the target fully, but he now had an ice spear that he could break into a rain of shards or use as a weapon. "Charge!" Using the ice spear to open a path, Wartortle made his way forward to Machamp.

Giovanni switched between looking up and to the area in front of him. Though the pokemon fought and dodged constantly, it was those instances of directly guided battles within the war that made a big difference. "Kabutops bubble beam and scald!"

The arena was flooded with bubbles that made dodging and even seeing beyond them difficult. Then the boiling water attacks came. "Clefable, reinforce the light screen, focus on that! Lightning, watch her back!" By then Wartortle had made it to Machamp, but nothing was left from his ice spear.

Ashimi was taking the lead and soon Giovanni realized that controlling so many pokemon at once wasn't so easy when he had to counter, rather than just make a move. "Machamp, dynamic punch!"

"Wartortle withdraw and hydro pump at the ground!" The turtle pokemon went flying like a rocket and hit Machamp on the face. "Aqua tail!" He turned around in mid air and his tails emerged from his shell, spinning to hit Machamp again. "Chari, fire blitz!" Up in the air, the Charizard began a series of fast fire attacks combined with fighting moves.

"Aerodactyl, iron head!" Aerodactyl went on the offensive again, trying to knock Chari out of the sky.

'That's it, divide your attention, don't focus too much on Kabutops,' Ashimi thought. If she kept up the battle in the sky, Giovanni would be compelled to look up every now and then, and she could use that time to overwhelm with a series of quick strategies on the ground. "Chari, smoke screen and dragon rage!"

"Aerodactyl, blow that smoke away and use aerial ace!" Giovanni called out, but when the smoke cleared, Chari was nowhere to be seen, then in a split second the Charizard dove from above and attacked with a relentless force.

The battle in the sky was the perfect distraction. By all logic the pokemon that was alone would need the more help from the trainer, but the way Ashimi saw it, all of Giovanni's pokemon were fighting alone. They were on the same team and working towards the same goal, but they weren't used to battling together and didn't know how to complement each other like her pokemon did.

"Furball, regroup with Wartortle!" That meant that Purry would go along, since she had mostly been chasing Furball, trying to push him to battle harder, while he mostly dodged. "Lightning, thunder on Aerodactyl!" The electric bolt flew up and caught Aerodactyl, who was kept quite busy by Chari. "Chari, fire blitz!"

"Aerodactyl, giga impact!" Giovanni tried to end the sky battle as quickly as possible, so he could focus on what was happening on the ground. "Rhyperior, hammer arm on that Pikachu! Kabutops, flash canon the Charizard!" Giovanni ordered in a rush.

As Furball charged in, Machamp was still a bit dazed from Wartortle's attack and tried to punch the Meowth away. Furball jumped higher than the Machamp expected. "Iron tail!" Furball spun in mid air, his metallic tail hitting Machamp on the face. The fighter still threw punches at random though the Meowth was landing behind him. Purry ducked to dodge the incoming attacks, though Machamp still cut his knuckles as the punch reached the tip of her ruby horn. The fighter growled and the feline hissed. "Night slash!" Furball didn't give Machamp time to recover before attacking again.

"Lightning, quick attack on Kabutops!" The Pikachu was on the move again, speedily crossing the battle field towards the armored fossil pokemon. "Volt tackle!" Lightning sped up even more, surrounded by electricity and tackled Kabutops just as he was using a flash cannon. The electric mouse scurried between Kabutops' legs and dashed off. Rhyperior tried to chase after him, but Lightning was faster.

The flash canon was thrown off course and hit Aerodactyl instead of Chari. She was knocked out of the sky and crashed into the chaos below. 'The sky battle was a good distraction, I didn't mean to end it so soon, but I guess I might as well.' "Finish Aerodactyl! Chari, fire blast! Lightning, thunder!" Aerodactyl was further assaulted before she could recover and finally knocked out.

"Machamp, get Aerodactyl!" Machamp immediately stopped his current feud and hurried to follow Giovanni's command. He placed Aerodactyl on the sidelines and rejoined the battle.

'Why?' Ashimi wondered in confusion. 'Why hasn't he recalled any pokemon?' She didn't get it, but she had a feeling that it wasn't done in vain, nothing Giovanni did was without a purpose. "Furball, toxic!" Ashimi reinforced the poison to continue weakening her opponents. Again, inevitably some of her own pokemon were caught in the poisonous mist as well, but that was quickly resolved. "Clefable, heal bell!"

Giovanni couldn't believe Ashimi was in the lead, and that poison wasn't helping him either. He needed to end this fast. 'Focus,' he thought, he couldn't allow the chaos to distract him, or the fact that a part of him was proud that Ashimi took to it without being overwhelmed. 'My next target is Clefable,' he reminded himself. Clefable was boosting the others' defenses, with her gone, the rest of the team would be easier to take out. "Kabutops, flash canon at Clefable!"

"Keep the defense up, Clefable! Lightning, thunder at Kabutops!" Ashimi called out in a rush.

"Machamp, focus blast on Clefable! Rhyperior, earthquake!" The ground shook violently, making it difficult for Clefable to stand and lowering her concentration. Machamp's blasts came at random, though Lightning tried to defend his teammate.

"Wartortle, hydro pump on Kabutops!" Ashimi knew that losing Clefable's defensive boost would be very bad, so she tried to defend the psychic pokemon. As Lightning and Wartortle attacked Kabutops from each side, the revived and upgraded fossil took to the skies with a jet pack that emerged from the back of his armor.

"Flash canon!" Kabutops crashed into Clefable's psychic shield after being missed by Lightning and Wartortle's attacks. The fossil cyborg attacked relentlessly until Clefable's shield couldn't hold out anymore.

'I can't allow myself to lose another pokemon!' Ashimi thought. Chari was flying, shooting fireballs at Machamp and Rhyperior. Furball was busy trying to evade Purry's attacks as if they were having a private mother son training session. "Lightning, Wartortle-"

"Explosion!" Giovanni's voice echoed across the battle field, drowning out all other sounds. The flash of light and subsequent release of sound waves and chunks of metal was massive.

"Clefable!" Furball was far enough to take cover and not suffer damage beyond scratches, minor burns and a pounding headache accompanied by ringing ears. Chari retreated high up at the last second and managed to escape the blast unharmed. "Lightning! Wartortle!" Clefable would surely have fainted when the smoke cleared, maybe even Lightning and Wartortle since they were so close. Yet when the smoke cleared out only Clefable was unconscious. Lightning and Wartortle were several feet away from where they had stood, looking refreshed.

Clefable was bruised, beaten and bloody. Ashimi soon realized what must have happened. "Clefable, return! You really made a big difference with your quick thinking." Clefable used her telekinesis to push Lightning and Wartortle away. Then in her final moment of consciousness, she used healing wish to sacrifice what little energy she had left to heal the teammates within her reach, splitting the energy between them. That left her even more exposed to the attack, but she knew she wouldn't be able to resist it anyway, so she gave the last bit of her strength to her companions.

'Kabutops used explosion, so I'm still ahead,' Ashimi tried to focus on the positive. To her surprise something emerged from the rubble next to where she had recalled Clefable. 'Looks like I don't have the number advantage after all.' Kabutops stood up without his armor. There was a certain glow to him that indicated he had used a strong version of harden right before the explosion. The explosion itself had been produced by the armor, which he could fight without, although he would lose the moves exclusive to Genesect.

Giovanni had used a strong move that he wouldn't be able to repeat in the remainder of the battle, but he had substantially weakened Ashimi's defenses and brought the match back to a draw. His pokemon were still weakened by the poison, but they were strong and could resist it. It would be too risky for Ashimi to reinforce the poison again in this close combat, since she didn't have Clefable to heal her own pokemon if they got caught in the toxic mist. "Machamp, brick break on the Wartortle!" The water pokemon had tough defenses that Giovanni thought he better break through as soon as possible.

"Wartortle, withdraw and use hydro pump from inside your shell!" It was a seemingly perfect counter strategy, but thing were never simple.

"Rhyperior, hammer arm!" Rhyperior knocked Wartortle's shell away, causing the hydro pump to miss. "Kabutops, night slash!" The prehistoric pokemon leapt on the attack slashing nonstop with his scythes to no avail, as Wartortle's shell protected him.

"Chari, fire blast!" The Charizard flew over the other combatants, using her fire to defend her teammate.

Giovanni glanced at Purry. "Get in there, girl." She ran towards the intense battle, leaving a tired Furball to wonder what she was planning to do. Surprising Ashimi, the daring Persian charged right in with a horn attack, except there was something different about it, the horn was glowing.

"Wartortle, hydro pump!" Nothing happened and Purry dashed right into the shell, squeezing inside in a way only a cat could. Ashimi's eyes went wide as Wartortle's shell rolled around due to the battle taking place within. She realized too late what the ruby horn's glow meant, 'she can use disable.' It was unusual, but then so was the horn and there were ways to teach pokemon moves that their kind could very rarely learn. "Try a different move, water gun, ice beam, anything!" Purry jumped out of the shell and Wartortle didn't come out. Ashimi could sense his low energy as if he were asleep, but she knew what it really meant, he had fainted. "Wartortle, return! You put up a good fight."

Giovanni didn't waste another second, this battle had gone on long enough. "Machamp, rolling kick on the Pikachu."

"Dodge it, Lightning! I'll tell you when to use volt tackle." Ashimi watched for an opening.

"Rhyperior, rock wrecker, on the Charizard!" Rhyperior continuously threw boulders at Chari, who dodged them in the air and responded with fire blasts. Giovanni knew he had to get her to come down, but she had no reason to at the moment, unless the rest of the team was in danger of being knocked out and she went to defend them. "Cross chop! Brick break! Rolling kick! Dynamic punch!" Giovanni coached Machamp move per move, but Lightning kept dodging as if he knew exactly what was coming. Then Giovanni realized it, of course he knew, Ashimi put his notes to good use after all.

Lightning felt like he was back in the hologram room, training with Ashimi. He knew her voice would come even before he heard her, "volt tackle!" He tackled Machamp with everything he had, throwing the larger pokemon back several feet. "Furball, shadow ball Rhyperior!" Furball was flailing around in the air, Purry had used her own tail to pick him up by the tail and hold him out of reach, but he still managed to shoot a shadow ball in Rhyperior's direction.

The attack bought enough time for Chari break away from the battle for her next attack. "Seismic toss!" Before Machamp could recover, Chari picked him off the ground and gained altitude again.

"Kabutops, hyper beam, knock that Charizard out of the sky!" Giovanni was losing his patience. He had to put that Charizard out of the battle. "Rhyperior, rock wrecker!"

Chari dove full speed, dodging the boulders and beams of energy while Machamp struggled to get free. The seismic toss left the fighting pokemon in a crater on the ground as dust flew up in a thick cloud. Ashimi knew she couldn't take any chances. "Furball, shadow ball at Rhyperior! Lightning, thunder at Kabutops! Chari, fire blast at Machamp!" Ashimi knew there was a very good chance that Rhyperior and Kabutops would dodge, but it would still work in her favor, as her true intension was to keep them busy, so they wouldn't get in the way of Chari's attack, which Machamp wouldn't be able to dodge. The smoke and dust cleared, and sure enough Machamp had fainted.

"Quit playing around!" Giovanni snapped at Purry. She immediately smashed Furball against the ground, still holding him by the tail with her own tail. The Meowth was dazed, but he still continued to flail. He attempted to shoot a shadow ball at his mother, but she shook him in the air so much he missed.

'Machamp is still in that crater, but there are less combatants now, so he's less likely to get caught in the battle,' Ashimi thought. 'I still don't get it, why haven't any of them been recalled?'

"Rhyperior, mega horn on Pikachu!" Giovanni continued on the attack, refusing to give up the lead of the battle. They were at a draw once again, with three pokemon each. Rhyperior went on the attack, Lightning was faster, but he was tired. "Kabutops, sand storm!" Kabutops began to spin as he ran his scythes through the ground in tornado patterns. The dust began to fly until it covered the arena. "Kabutops, hyper beam on the Charizard!"

"Be careful, Chari, go higher!" Chari couldn't see where the beams were coming from on the ground, but at least if she gained altitude, she had more time to dodge. That also meant having a harder time trying to hit any targets on the ground with her fire, but she couldn't see them through the sand anyway, so they were relying on luck and instinct.

Purry smashed Furball on the ground again and yawned. The effects of the poison were getting harder to resist and she was feeling lightheaded. None the less, she withstood it. She knew the poison always felt worse when it was about to fade away, so if she could resist it, she would feel better soon. 'You're really stubborn, aren't you?'

'Almost as much as you,' Furball dizzily replied.

'I bet your father would have already been long since knocked out,' Purry teased.

An indignant hiss came from the sidelines next to Giovanni. 'I heard that!' The male Persian protested. He made a mental note to start training again. He couldn't deny that he had become lazy over the years and he had to remedy that.

"Kabutops, stone edge on Pikachu!" Giovanni shifted tactics.

"Chari, dive!" Ashimi called out in a rush.

"Rhyperior, fire blast on Pikachu!" Lightning was trapped between the two attackers. Chari dove into the area and grabbed Lightning, protecting him from the stone edge attack. The fire blast came from the other side, behind her. She blocked it with her tail and though it still hurt, her flame burned very brightly.

"Night slash!" Kabutops charged at Chari with his scythes at the ready.

"Iron tail!" Chari swung her tail at Kabutops, it was covered by a metallic texture that glowed red as it burned. "Lightning, iron tail Rhyperior!" Kabutops was knocked off his feet and fell back. Lightning went on the offensive, preventing Rhyperior from interfering. "Blast burn!" Chari went all out attacking Kabutops point blank until her tail flame was dim and the prehistoric pokemon had fainted.

Purry continued smashing Furball against the ground. 'Get knocked out already, you stubborn kitten,' she grinned at how strong her son had become, even if she was relentless in her attack.

'No way! I won't give up!' Furball struggled with everything he had, just to remain conscious.

'Looks like Rhyperior's alone against those two, I better join in.' Purry harshly smashed Furball against the ground one last time and ran off to join Rhyperior.

Furball was barely conscious, too dizzy to do much at the moment except lie there. "Furball, I knew you could keep Purry busy, well done!" Ashimi commended. "Stay there and try to recover for now." She turned her attention to the other combatants. They were all tired, Chari and Lightning had just made a great effort, but Rhyperior and Purry had been suffering from poisoning for most of the battle, but it had diminished and faded away by now. Ashimi knew she needed to buy some time for Furball to recover and join in, then it would be three against two. "Smoke screen and retreat!" Chari gave them some cover and they ran off.

"Stop stalling! Persian, Rhyperior, finish this!" Giovanni called out impatiently. "Rhyperior, blizzard!" The cold wind and snow began to blow the smoke away, but when it cleared, there was no one there. Giovanni automatically looked up, guessing that the pokemon would take to the sky. Sure enough, the Charizard was hovering overhead with the Pikachu and Meowth on her back. She was fast to have time to pick them both up. "Rhyperior, throw Persian up there!" Purry jumped, landing on Rhyperior's arm and he threw her as high as he could. "Thunder!" She released a powerful electric attack in the air, which Chari tried to dodge, but wasn't able to. The static clung to her wings and rendered them paralyzed. It was hard just to keep them open to soften the landing. "Rhyperior, stone edge!"

"Chari!" Chari stepped back and jump trying to dodge the attack, but it all came too fast. "Lightning, Furball, double thunder!" They jumped towards Rhyperior and attacked together.

"Persian, night slash!" Purry jumped towards the attacking pair, claws out.

"Fire blast!" Though Chari had not yet fully recovered, she shot a strong flame that knocked Purry away from Lightning and Furball, leaving her with burns. "Dragon rage!" The fire pokemon charged forward full force, unconcerned for the dimness of her tail flame, though Ashimi was certainly worrying. Yet it was now or never, "fire blitz and another double thunderbolt!"

"Rhyperior, hyper beam!" Chari didn't deviate from her target despite the direct hit. Smoke came from her tiny tail flame and she fainted, but Purry had fainted as well.

Giovanni's male Persian watched the intense fight from the sidelines. 'I really do need to start training again,' he quietly thought. He didn't realize just how far behind he had fallen.

"Chari, return, you did great, super brave as always." Ashimi recalled her. She realized that the battle could go either way at this point.

"Earthquake!" Giovanni went on the attack again, not wasting the opportunity to make the next move.

The ground shook violently, preventing Lightning and Furball from making any moves. "C'mon, focus!" They tried to regain their balance with great difficulty. "Lightning, give Furball a boost." Furball hopped on Lightning's back. The two were about the same size, but this way Lightning would withstand the earthquake so that Furball could gain enough balance to jump on Rhyperior. "Water pulse!" Furball landed on Rhyperior's head and attacked with all he had. He was tired, dazed, and barely registered what was going on around him. By the time Rhyperior managed to pry him off, Furball had already fainted. "Furball, return! Lightning iron tail! You did great, Furball, you've gotten very strong." Lightning charged in before Rhyperior could fully recover from the water pulse and hit him with every bit of strength he had left. Rhyperior stumbled back and fell, exhausted and barely conscious. "It's almost over, one more attack!"

"Everyone hyper beam!" Giovanni's sudden command took Ashimi by surprise, as all the pokemon got up shakily to attack one last time. They had rested for a while, so it wasn't all that unbelievable that they would wake up from their fainting, the shocking part was that they were attacking despite their weakened state. Rhyperior struggled to get up and joined in.

Lightning tried to dodge the hits, but there were too many and he couldn't dodge them all. The effort made Giovanni's pokemon faint again as they had not recovered enough to battle. However, Lightning also fainted. "Return!" Giovanni finally recalled all his pokemon.

Ashimi recalled Lightning as well, as he would be a little more comfortable in his pokeball due to its standard healing mechanism that all pokeballs had by default. "You fought to the very end Lightning, it was a great battle." She sighed and walked across the mangled terrain of the battle field. "I guess I wasn't strong enough after all. I should have trained harder during the holidays..."

"Yes, you should have, but you still earned this." Giovanni gave her an earth badge.

"But it was a draw," Ashimi only stared at it unsure.

Giovanni placed the badge in the palm of her hand. "It was only a draw because I used illegal tactics to see how far I could push you. Take it, you've earned it."

"Thank you..." A smile formed on Ashimi's face. "My final badge... I'm going to the Indigo League!" She cheered.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 34: The buffet of manliness joke comes from those Meowth fantasy-based Giovanni fan-made motivational poster things. XD Elf, Frosty and Rudolf are alternate incarnations of the protagonists of my original tale "Futuristic Christmas Story." Rocket Fuel is like Steam.

Chapter 35: Ever been in a situation where someone claims to give you a choice, except one of the so called options is near impossible or inexplicably random, but you decide to choose that anyway and totally throw them off? XD

The Beedrill is the one referred to as Prince in Don't Give Me Diamonds, the son of the Queen Beedrill, who was Giovanni's pokemon in the past and guarded the Viridian Forest in Diamonds. The three Butterfree are his daughters from Pretty, the Butterfree that Pixel released in the forest in Diamonds.

Chapter 36: Epic long battle! x.x The Dragon Ball Z mention wasn't just a reference to how timeless it is, but a sign that an epic long battle was on its way. XD 

Though Giovanni isn't one to usually name his pokemon, it's kind of a necessity with the Porygon-Z, since there are several that interact with the Rocket virtual systems and it makes it easier to identify them, plus they might need a 'filename' for some of the more technical stuff. Maverick was named after the term used in Megaman X for a rogue robot, though he is in fact well trained and loyal to Giovanni.

xoxox xox xoxox

Characters

Elf Claus: The 25 year old granddaughter of the last classic Santa Claus and head of the north pole operations. She has waist length blond hair, green eyes, and wifi equipped pointy ears. Her technological enhancements are light by comparison, so some don't consider that she has enough machinery to be called a true cyborg, although what she does have is very useful.

Rudolf Rednose: A 27 year old cyborg, he has brown hair and eyes, tan skin and his most noticeable feature is the glowing red energy crystal on his forehead. He has a very high percentage of technology and is without a doubt a high tech cyborg.

Frosty Von Snowman: A 22 year old hacker and video game programmer who joined Team Rocket in hopes of being able to do both. He has white hair, blue eyes and very pale skin.


	13. Chapter 13

Awakening

Chapter 37: The Indigo League (Part 1)

Ashimi couldn't contain her excitement as the helicopter flew from Mount Silver to Viridian City. "The Indigo League may disappoint you," Giovanni warned.

His words took Ashimi by surprise. "The Indigo League is every trainer's dream. It's the most famous of all the regional pokemon leagues, how can it disappoint me?"

"No battle royales, minimal unexpected tricks, lots of rules. It won't be like our battle and pulling a stunt like what you did at Cinnabar Island would just get you disqualified." Giovanni was referring to her rampage rather than the badge battle.

Ashimi laughed nervously, "I'll be careful." When the helicopter landed, Ashimi's friends were waiting for her. She had gotten used to her link with Zero and the distance had been no problem, though it was still relatively short. She started telling them about the battle, not skipping a single detail.

xoxox xox xoxox

The remaining days were spent both training and relaxing, though there didn't have time to do too much before it was time to head to the Indigo Plateau. Her friends were allowed to tag along and they all rode on a large comfortable helicopter with two propellers. Though the transport was able to move fast, it chose to move slowly through the sky, alongside several small helicopter pods carrying cameras from various channels. They were all moving at the same pace as the people below, who were traveling on foot, following the trainer holding the torch.

The last stretch of the road was reached and the boy carrying the torch handed it over to a girl with lavender hair. "Doesn't she look kind of familiar?" Jonathan asked.

"You're right..." Volt looked at the TV rather than the window to get a closer look when the camera zoomed in. The camera focused on the girl and he recognized her. "It's that girl from the Vulpix contest. If not for Johnny she might have won or tied with Ashimi."

"Don't remind me," Jonathan groaned.

"I wasn't paying attention to the details at the time because I was focused on the contest, and everyone looked different with all that makeup on anyway. But now I feel like I've seen her face somewhere other than the contest," Ashimi voiced in thought.

A silent pause passed before Zero suggested, "Daala?" They all stared at the TV waiting for the aerial view to switch to a close up again.

Then they finally saw it, she had changed her hair, but she was the same person. "Why is Daala carrying the torch?" Dorme inquired, though she didn't expect anyone to know the answer.

"Looks like the Indigo League might be more exciting than we thought," Ashimi mused aloud.

"In any case, we'll have to watch our backs," Volt cautioned.

"Right, we won't let Daala ruin the Indigo League!" Jonathan agreed.

"Does that mean you're going to use that sword you're carrying?" Dorme half joked.

Jonathan retrieved the sword, pulling it out over his shoulder from the sheath on his back. "If I have to."

"It is a cool new sword," Volt observed the shiny weapon. "A replica of the Master Sword, right?"

"It is more than just cool," Jonathan grinned, "and yes, I always wanted a legendary video game sword and last year I got it."

"Last year?" Dorme blinked in surprise. "How come I haven't see you with it if you've had it for that long? Did you forget it at the bottom of your locker or something?"

"I had my reasons not to take it with me right away..." Jonathan vaguely replied.

"It's because he could barely lift it when he got it," Ashimi revealed.

"Hey, this thing's heavy!" Jonathan pouted, "besides, I can use it just fine now," he defended.

"Can I?" Jonathan handed the sword to Volt, who started making heroic poses with it. "It's not really heavy."

"You don't think anything is heavy," Jonathan grumbled.

"I'll have to agree with Johnny on this one," Dorme nodded. "Which is why you're so good to have around in shopping trips."

"That's an inconvenient... compliment?" Volt breathed unsure.

"It's pretty convenient to me," Dorme smiled.

They finally made it to the stadium and remained in the air. They gathered around a glass floor panel and watched as Daala lit an arrow, the archer, a boy around her age, shot the arrow into the large torch that ignited with the fire that signified the start of the Indigo League. The crowd cheered and music played and several people put on a show in the stadium. The helicopter landed and Ashimi went to join the other trainers to march through the stadium in a few minutes, while her friends and family went to take their seats.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi had filled the moment with excitement in her mind, so walking across the stadium felt like so much more than a simple motion. She was filled with joy, as if she had been born for that very moment, until... 'A victory shall be claimed.' It was that voice again. That ominous echoing voice in her head spoke to her again after a long silence. It was evil and mocking, she knew right away it wasn't saying she would win the Indigo League.

Ashimi felt that the victory it mentioned would be her loss. 'Legend...' She tried to stay focused and follow the pace of the people around her. 'I won't let you ruin this for me. I won't let you win!' Darkness enveloped her and she knew nothing of the world as her senses faded away.

xoxox xox xoxox

 

Ashimi felt as if she had fainted, but when she woke up, she wasn't on a bed in her assigned room at the plateau or in the infirmary, or anywhere where she could have been placed to rest. She was standing in the trainer's platform across from an impatient boy and the announcer told her to call out her first pokemon. She didn't know how she got there and it worried her that she couldn't remember.

She knew that the crowds' eyes were on her as she tried to regain her bearings, but one gaze stood apart from the others. Despite the distance Ashimi found herself staring into her father's eyes. She forced a smile and tried to pass her odd behavior as nerves. All her pokemon were in their pokeballs, the rules didn't allow trainers to march with their pokemon during the opening ceremony ever since a battle broke loose a few years ago. Without any time to give it any further thought, Ashimi called out a pokemon. "Wartortle, I choose you!" That made sense to her, since her opponent's pokemon was a Magmar. Yet it didn't excuse why she took that long to make such an obvious choice.

"Finally!" The boy huffed. Ashimi finally took a moment to recognize him and noticed he was the one who shot the arrow earlier. He must be a talented trainer, so type advantage aside, this was no time to space out. She didn't know his name, she assumed that the announcer must have introduced them, but she wasn't quite there to hear it.

The archer said something, but his voice came out distorted to Ashimi and she didn't understand. Then something very unusual occurred. Magmar began to wave a pair of fluffy pon-pons around like a cheerleader. Ashimi stared in confusion, when did Magmar even get the pon-pons? She was sure she didn't have them a few seconds ago. Wartortle was looking uncomfortable and covering his face. "Wartortle, hydro pump!"

The water pokemon obeyed, but the attack didn't have as much of an effect as Ashimi hoped. The announcer was saying something, but she couldn't make out the words. The voices of the crowd mixed into disruptive murmurs that were both loud and impossible to decipher. When Ashimi tried to focus, one thing stood out to her, Magmar was attacking with seeds. How was that even possible?

xoxox xox xoxox

In one of the private VIP balconies, Giovanni was throwing a fit, yelling at several people through his ear piece. "Do we have an intruder? Sabrina? Anyone suspicious at all?"

"No sir, nothing to report," Comet's voice replied.

"Nothing on my end either," Pixel added.

"Check the equipment," Giovanni insisted. "Something is definitely wrong with her but nothing is touching her, this has to be some kind of psychic attack!" He looked at the trainer's platform where Ashimi stood. Jessie and James were inspecting the area surrounding the base of the platform, but they didn't look like they found any sort of suspicious device that could be interfering with their psychic sensors. Sabrina could stay hidden if she kept her power suppressed, but not if she was using it on Ashimi. Jessie and James made a final check of the area and went back inside the round stadium building to search the rest of the surrounding areas along with many other Rockets.

"No..." Ash gasped. Misty, Delia, Jonathan, Dorme, Volt and Zero stared at him expectantly. "The attack is coming from the inside. This doesn't make sense, the earrings should have protected her. What could be strong enough to get through? This is... What is this?!" His senses felt clouded, drowned in darkness.

"Ashimi, I'm coming!" Zero began to concentrate, surrounded by a blue light.

'Be careful, aniki!' Nidorino called out as Zero reverted to his default form and began to fade, until he was gone completely. He didn't return to the data crystal though, instead he followed the link of energy straight to Ashimi.

"What's that little glitch doing?" Giovanni growled impatiently.

"He's... He's connected to Ashimi somehow," Ash couldn't really explain it, but if there was one thing he realized, it was that there was a lot his daughter needed to tell him. "He's trying to help her... I think he's taking over so she can focus her energy at a subconscious level and fight whatever it is that's attacking her."

"Possession?" Giovanni didn't like the sound of that. "Can a program even do that?"

"He's not just a program..." Ash whispered. "But I didn't expect something like this. It's because her energy extends out and links to him that this is possible. What I can't explain is how Ashimi even did that. Not even I can link myself to another living creature for an extended period of time, certainly not one as different as Zero."

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi suddenly went limp and looked as if she would fall over. She slowly lifted her head and blinked her eyes into focus, except it wasn't she who was doing any of that. "Wartortle, use hydro pump gently, straight up." It was Ashimi's voice, as it was her vocal cords that were in use, but it wasn't she who was speaking at all. She moved somewhat stiffly, as if on puppet strings, like a possessed doll, or as being possessed by a doll. The water went up softly and showered down on Wartortle. 'That should wash off some of the stun spores from before,' Zero thought.

Wartortle looked up at the platform with concern. "It'll be okay," Zero assured. The water pokemon knew this wasn't his trainer, the look in the eyes was so different, but the turtle also knew who it was that stepped in, someone he could trust. Zero could see the truth, as the attack to the senses was only reaching Ashimi. Wartortle's opponent was Jumpluff. "Jumpluff, use poison powder!" The archer called out.

"Wartortle, rain dance!" The move wouldn't be very effective against Jumpluff, but it would help wash away the spores in the air, now that Wartortle had recovered enough mobility to do the dance. 'He's using long range attacks because he knows Wartortle is stronger, it's time to charge in,' Zero thought.

"Jumpluff, energy ball!" The grass pokemon began to form a powerful sphere of concentrated energy, ready to fire it in a split second.

"Withdraw and hydro pump, charge in!" Just as Jumpluff released the energy ball, Wartortle retreated into his shell and shot his hydro pump at the grassy ground of the arena. He shot into the air, but Jumpluff was quick to avoid the collision.

Now that they were face to face at close range, the archer immediately tried to recover the distance between them. "Solar beam!"

"Iron defense and brick break!" Wartortle charged in, he was hit by Jumpluff's attack, but delivered a devastating blow and Jumpluff fainted.

The announcer attributed the round to Ashimi. The rules of the Indigo League varied over the years and sometimes they came up with special rules to keep things interesting. This year the trainers battled with four pokemon each, with a fifth pokemon to be called out only in the case of a draw. Once a pokemon was recalled, it couldn't be called out until the next battle. However, if a pokemon was knocked out, it couldn't be called out for the remainder of the league. Ashimi didn't like to catch more pokemon than she could carry because of her concern for pokemon being abandoned and forgotten in suspended animation in a digital storage.

Ashimi could send her pokemon to Gary, but he already had his hands full trying to give Team Rocket's pokemon a chance to go outside, run and play every now and then, and those were a lot of pokemon to take turns visiting him. Ashimi wasn't even sure how many Team Rocket kept in storage, and how many were not even allowed to visit Gary, but she wasn't about to add to those numbers. She could only hope the dream world project was completed soon, so that pokemon could interact with each other and their trainers in a digital world, rather than remain in a frozen dreamless coma.

This year's rules were not favorable to Ashimi, but she was still determined to do her best. She reasoned that if her pokemon started to look tired, all she had to do was recall them before they fainted and she could send them out to battle again in the next round after they recovered. For the trainers that adopted that careful strategy, it technically meant that they would be down one pokemon as well, albeit they could still use it in the future. It made for an interesting twist and the opportunity to come back from behind.

The archer recalled Jumpluff and called out his next pokemon. "I won't underestimate you again, go Dragonite!"

'I better be careful,' Zero thought, he didn't want to let any of Ashimi's pokemon faint. "Well done Wartortle, you can rest now, return!" After recalling Wartortle, he called out the next pokemon, the best choice he could think off to face a Dragonite, especially that Dragonite. Even if it might be a bit mean, he couldn't let Ashimi lose. "Chari, I choose you!"

The Dragonite growled in recognition, while Chari huffed as if proudly justifying herself. The Dragonite was missing an antennae from the last encounter with the fierce fire pokemon. The dragon had lived with Gary for a while, who received a visit from Lance and the dragon trainer had taken an interest in the Dragonite. Gary had contacted Ashimi about it and she said to go ahead and give the Dragonite to Lance. This boy must be someone Lance trusted for the Dragonite to have ended up in his hands.

Then Zero remembered why the cyan haired boy looked familiar. Evazan Embo, as the announcer had called him, was known in Johto simply as Arrow and sometimes acted as a vigilante, but he was smart enough to stay away from Team Rocket. He was rumored to help pokemon in the wild too. "Chari, be careful, don't get cocky," despite the warning, the Charizard was ready to do just that.

Chari blew a smoke ring as if to show her superiority and indifference. Dragonite frowned but didn't make a move until his trainer indicated. "Dragonite, use aqua tail!" The dragon pokemon went on the offensive, swinging his tail strongly at Chari.

Chari swung her own tail recklessly, to bat away the dragon's watery tail. A veil of steam emerged from her tail and covered the arena. The fire pokemon couldn't help it but to cringe at how strong the attack was, but she fought not to show it.

"C'mon Chari, try to be careful!" Zero insisted again. Chari flew up to the trainer's platform and perched on the railing, looking into the eyes that were physically Ashimi's with a look that wasn't her own. The perceptive pokemon had realized right away who this was and assumed Zero had a good reason to possess Ashimi. She extended her claw and ruffled Ashimi's hair. "You're treating me like a little kid, aren't you?"

'It's okay chibi, I can handle this,' Chari replied before hopping back into the arena. Dragonite was waiting at the ready and received her with another aqua tail. That time Chari dodged then shot an oversized stream of flames non-stop. Dragonite was quick to get out of the way, but Chari kept up the breath of fire, trying to hit him.

"Stop showing off, you're wasting your energy!" Zero warned fruitlessly. Chari continued until she had to pause to catch her breath. Dragonite was flying overhead.

Chari growled and took to the sky, clawing and kicking in the air, but her movements were so desperate for superiority and so impatient that they came out clumsy, until Dragonite managed to knock her down. "Dragonite, use hyper beam!"

"Chari, get up! Get out of the way!" Zero prepared the pokeball, but at the last second Chari rolled out of the way, dodging the red recall beam and mostly dodging the hyper beam.

Chari didn't escape without a scratch, as her right wing was caught by the hyper beam and it was evident that she wouldn't be able to fly until she took a trip to the infirmary. 'You... you'll pay for that!' The Charizard roar ferociously.

"Chari, let's try this one more time," Zero tried to reason with her. He knew that as long as she had even an ounce of strength left, she would resist being recalled into her pokeball.

Chari nodded, 'fine, I'll listen to you this time, but you better have some good ideas, chibi.'

Zero's first idea was quite simple, yet necessary, "watch out!" Another hyper beam flew by just barely missing the target. 'Okay, so Chari can't fly and her tail flame isn't doing too great. I'll have to lure Dragonite to the ground,' Zero thought. "Use smoke screen and dig!" The smoke screen covered her retreat, as the Charizard dug into the grassy arena. She kept her injured wing flat against her back so as to not further damage it.

"Dragonite, use hurricane!" The smoke screen was easily blown away along with chunks of grass and dirt from the arena. Thankfully, Chari was buried deep enough to stay hidden. "Hiding like a coward, come out and face me!"

"Stay where you are, Chari, we don't take orders from them!" Zero hoped that she wouldn't listen to the taunts.

Seeing as there was no other choice, Arrow sent Dragonite down to the ground with a new plan of attack. "Use earthquake!"

The Dragonite dove to initiate the attack on the ground. "Dragonite is going towards the center of the arena!" Chari surfaced just as Dragonite approached. "Fire blast!" Before the dragon could attack, he was received by a massive blast of flames. Chari didn't have a lot of fire to waste, but this was an emergency.

Arrow made a quick change of tactics that could result fatal if Chari was hit at such a close range. "Hyper beam!"

"Fire fang!" Dragonite had backed up in reaction to the fire blast. Chari quickly pushed herself up with her tail and batted her good wing to jump before he could go further out of reach in the air. However, Dragonite was already too high up and she only managed to bite onto his tail, though it was enough to force him to land. "Dragon claw, just like you practiced!" Chari began a rapid succession of slashes, though it looked more like she was boxing while stabbing with her claws.

Arrow wasn't sure how to counter, so he called for the only attack that might be able to break through the fire pokemon's fighting style. "Dragon rage!"

'Big mistake,' Zero grinned. Dragonite had been lured into fighting how he wanted and now Chari stood on equal grounds. "Keep going Chari, concentrate on dodging and keep him busy. Don't lose the rhythm and don't get impatient, an opportunity will come up!" The exchange continued like a boxing match with claws until finally, Zero saw an opening. "Focus punch!" Chari's stance and delivery were perfect for maximum strength. She bent her knees and stretched them as she brought her fist up to Dragonite's jaw in a solid hit. The dragon staggered back dizzily as a trickle of blood went down the side of his jaw. "Finish him! Giga impact!"

Chari tackled Dragonite with everything she had. He was knocked to the ground harshly, but Chari didn't know if he was knocked out or not, she did know that she was finished, she wouldn't be able to exert herself any longer. With the last of her strength she slashed at Dragonite, too dazed, desperate and fearful of losing to realize what she was doing. There was the red beam of a pokeball, but Chari didn't know it was for Dragonite and tried to block it with her good wing, focusing on resisting it. "Chari! Chari, that's enough! Stop!"

The Charizard finally came to her senses and stumbled back in a daze. Dragonite was finally recalled and Arrow was glaring daggers. 'Is it over?' Chari breathe desperately. 'Did we win?'

"Yeah... We won, you can rest now..." Zero recalled Chari and let out a breath of relief, she was exhausted, but didn't faint, so she could be called out to battle again later. Ashimi wouldn't be happy to find she got an official warning for use of excessive force on a fainted pokemon. One more display like that and she would be disqualified. That Dragonite was certainly unfortunate.

Despite having lost two rounds, Arrow knew that he still had a chance if he won the remaining two, plus the tie breaker, but he wasn't really expecting that to happen. Even the pokemon he had borrowed from Lance failed and the experience in the league was supposed to help Dragonite adapt to battling again. Arrow felt that he had disappointed Lance, whom he had a lot of respect for and he couldn't get himself to focus on the remainder of the battle. "Go Yanmega!"

The bug pokemon buzzed around speedily and it was difficult just following his movements. "Golbat, I choose you!" At least Golbat seemed ready to listen. "Super sonic!"

"Super sonic!" Yanmega responded with the same ability and the super sonic waves seemed to cancel each other out.

"Aerial ace!" Golbat began to fly rapidly, trying hard to hit Yanmega.

"Double team!" The dragonfly's movements sped up even more, enough to create the illusion of there being two. "Quick attack!" Yanmega went on the offensive, but without his pokedex functions, Zero couldn't tell which one was real. Golbat was trying to dodge them both, but it was not easy. "Don't stop moving Golbat, use super sonic!" The waves didn't affect Yanmega too much, but the false image rippled. "Get ready to use air slash... now!" The attack hit the right target, slowing Yanmega's speedy movements and making the double disappear. "Air slash again!"

The dragonfly reacted quickly and dodged. Arrow knew he couldn't allow Golbat to continue getting ahead. "Ancient power!" Yanmega dove from the sky and flew close to the ground before pulling up in a fast fluid motion. Stones and clumps of dirt rose up from the ground after him. The earthly projectiles flew at Golbat from every direction.

"Be careful, Golbat, go higher!" Golbat tried to gain altitude to make the dodging easier but the rocks and dirt were coming fast from all directions and he was inevitably hit. "Golbat!" Golbat fell down to the grassy field. Zero looked down from the trainer's platform, worried that he had fainted. Golbat saw worry reflected on Ashimi's face, though because of his bond with her, he knew the consciousness wasn't her own.

The worry suddenly turned to pain as Zero felt Ashimi slipping away. He looked up just in time to see Ash exchange a few rushed words with Giovanni, Misty and Delia, before leaving the balcony, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt went after him. Zero knew that he sensed Ashimi was in danger, "she can't hold on, we need to finish this." Golbat's sensitive hearing picked up Zero's quiet words. He couldn't get knocked out.

Golbat wasn't as physically strong as Ashimi's other pokemon, but she always encouraged him to take pride in his speed. He couldn't let her down, the battle wouldn't last another round and even if she was ahead, if Ashimi was pulled out of the battle, a forfeit was still a forfeit. Golbat pulled himself off the ground and took to the air again as the announcer expressed his surprise, having initially thought the bat had fainted.

"Golbat, we need to finish this quickly, acrobatics!" Golbat pushed himself beyond the limit to fly faster. The speedy Yanmega kept up with him, but was unable to do anything other than dodge. "Toxic!" A toxic cloud began to form while Golbat continued his impressive flying. The cloud grew in size, but Golbat didn't stop.

"Yanmega!" Arrow called out to his pokemon in concern. The way Golbat attacked while moving so quickly was really something. He had heard that Ashimi never rotated her pokemon, having the same team constantly with her must have made them exceptionally strong. 'If I had known about this...' If he lost now it wouldn't matter, he would never get the chance to call out his strongest ally.

xoxox xox xoxox

At the entrance to the battle arena in the center of the stadium, Ash had made it past the guards with the use of his Pokemon League connections, or at least that was one theory. Jonathan, Dorme and Volt thought they were scared of his 'get out of my way or else' glare, especially since his well known massively powerful Pikachu was on his shoulder.

"Wait!" Dorme called out. "The battle is still going on. If you take Ashimi away now, she'll be disqualified!"

"She's in danger!" Ash snapped. "The thing possessing her is evil. Zero is making it so that Ashimi can focus on fighting it without worrying about consciously controlling her body or battling, but it's not enough!"

"She's possessed?" Volt and Dorme stared while Jonathan was left in silent thought. "But she worked so hard to get here and the battle is almost done," Volt pleaded.

"Step aside," Ash ordered and it took everything they had for Volt and Dorme to remain still. Ash still pushed past them though, only to find Jonathan blocking his path ahead, "move."

"No..." Jonathan refused. "A risk is better than an assured loss. I think Ashimi was talking about more than just the Indigo League. I don't know the full details, but I understand a little more now and I intend to keep my promise. Give Zero a little more time to win the battle."

"There is no time!" Ash went to push past Jonathan as well, but found himself facing Foxtrot. "Thunderbolt!" There was nowhere to run, Pikachu's immense power filled the hallway and left the Flareon barely standing. "He didn't faint right away, you've trained him well, but you can't beat me in a pokemon battle."

Foxtrot could barely stay on his feet and that was just one thunderbolt. If it had been thunder it would have been enough to make him faint. "You're right, I can't win in a pokemon battle." Jonathan recalled Foxtrot. He unsheathed his sword, holding it in front of him. "How about a sword fight instead?"

"I know you think you're helping Ashimi, but I don't have time to make you understand." Ash charged forward, light accumulating in his hand. A blade of pure blue aura with a white glow sliced the master sword replica in half, but Jonathan didn't move out of the way.

"We all trust Ashimi," Dorme stood on one side of Ash.

"And we know she can get through whatever it is that's happening to her," Volt added, standing at Ash's other side.

"Pikachu..." Ash whispered with a tangible tinge of guilt. The yellow mouse paused for a second, but soon released his electricity, paralyzing Dorme, Volt and Jonathan with his static. Ash walked a few steps forward before Jonathan stopped him again, though he could hardly move. "You're really stubborn..." A sense of danger invaded Ash and he panicked for a second. He projected a sphere of aura to push Jonathan out of the way, sending the boy to crash against the wall, before dashing down the hallway.

xoxox xox xoxox

Golbat's toxic cloud covered the whole arena and the bat kept flying through it trying to hit Yanmega, they were both poisoned. "Venoshock!"

"Hidden power!" Yanmega released a mysterious power, glowing and focusing his energy despite all that was happening around him.

Golbat screeched as if in pain, though Yanmega had not physically touched him. "Use hidden power too!" Struggling to concentrate, Golbat focused on what he needed to do. He didn't want to be the first to get knocked out, he didn't want to cost time that they didn't have. He had to be strong, his trainer and friends needed him and believed in him. The glow surrounding Golbat became brighter as the toxic cloud dissipated to give way to the battle of inner strength. With a fierce battle cry, Golbat took on the form of Crobat and finally succeeded, Yanmega fainted.

"Three straight wins despite all the difficulties..." Arrow whispered under his breath. It was true what they said about Ash's daughter being in a class of her own. Most people wouldn't recognize her before this, but after the Indigo League, Arrow was sure that everyone would know who Ashley was. She wasn't like Ash though, not from Arrow's perspective anyway.

As much respect as he had for Lance, the champion was wrong about his fellow champion's daughter being a lot like her father in anything other than talent. She was cocky, he couldn't believe she was actually nervous and chose a type disadvantage on the first round by mistake, she had to be showing off. Then her Charizard was so cruel it got her an official warning. Yet her pokemon were without a doubt very strong and the final round puzzled him.

How did Golbat, now Crobat, overpower Yanmega with hidden power? The mysterious ability was something that was often claimed to be empowered by the bond between the trainer and the pokemon. Perhaps she did care about her pokemon, but maybe only her pokemon and not others.

Honey colored eyes glared suspiciously before the sixteen year old Johto vigilante exited the arena. If there was one thing Arrow knew for sure, it was that he would have to keep an eye on her.

Zero recalled Crobat, "That was amazing!" Then he whispered to the pokeball so only Crobat could hear, "Ashimi will be very proud of you." The last thing he wanted was to, on top of everything, make people think Ashimi was crazy for talking about herself in third person. Zero went down from the trainer's platform, guiding Ashimi's body to leave the stadium and saw Ash a few steps into the stadium. 

Ash had rushed out and stopped cold just as Golbat used hidden power. Though she was buried in her subconscious, Ashimi somehow sensed her pokemon's unbreakable spirit at that moment and it gave her the strength to fight against the evil force possessing her. Ash let out a tired and stressed breath, then walked out of the stadium with his daughter, towards the trainers' rooms.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 38: The Indigo League (Part 2)

Ash, Ashimi, and by extension Zero, entered the room where Ashimi was staying for the Indigo League. Zero sat Ashimi down on the bed and materialized next to her. Ashimi went limp, but slowly reacted, lifting her head as if her body felt heavy. "Thanks chibi, I couldn't have done it without you," she smiled weakly.

Ash sat down beside her while a very uncomfortable silence invaded the room. Ashimi refused to look at him as a million inexplicable worries ran through her mind. She knew her thoughts were being influenced, yet she felt helpless to stop them.

"I'll be going back to the crystal," Zero finally announced. "Permanently, or until the technology exists to get me out, and you'll cut the aura link."

"No!" Ashimi protested. She stood suddenly and the dizziness that rushed to her head made her sit down again. "Your energy is even more mixed up now. This is the only way to keep you here. I'm the only one who can-"

"It's not you!" Zero snapped, raising his voice in a way he never had before. "It's that thing that's keeping me here and I don't want anything to do with it! If you refuse to let me go I'll ask Giovanni to order my deletion. It's for your own good, so he'll definitely do it!"

Ashimi felt her eyes water with desperate tears. "Do you hate us that much?" She whispered. "Do you hate me? Do you hate our friends? What about Comet, Pixel and the others? Why do you want to leave us?"

"You're being selfish," Ash interrupted sternly. "Don't you see you're causing him pain?"

"He's right," Zero admitted. "I'd rather cease to exist than hurt you, this is much worse for me."

"I'm sorry chibi," Ashimi cried. "I guess I have been selfish, I wanted to keep you with me, but you're not my living doll to keep, you're your own person and I should consider what you want... It's just so hard." She understood that things couldn't go on as they were, but she wished she didn't have to face it.

"It'll be okay, I know I'll see you again someday, just try to be patient," Zero smiled sadly.

"Do you want to go say goodbye?" Ashimi finally asked after a long solemn pause.

He did, but not if it meant giving that evil thing the time to influence Ashimi and make her backtrack. "No, I don't need any goodbyes, just tell everyone I said see you later."

Ashimi nodded and watched as Zero faded away back into the crystal. Her eyes were blurred with tears and she didn't see the virtual boy exchange a meaningful look with Ash, as if asking him to make sure the link was cut off completely, so that Ashimi wouldn't strain herself with it again. Once the process was complete, Zero was back in the crescent moon shaped clear data crystal, his previous link with Ashimi's aura gone completely.

"You can't bring him back..." It was a statement more so than a question.

"No," Ash confirmed. "I'm sorry, but I don't have the power."

"Neither do I..." Ashimi admitted.

Ash lifted his daughter's chin to look into her eyes. "Tell me what happened."

"I don't know exactly," Ashimi admitted.

"Just try," Ash encouraged her gently.

'Don't do it,' a voice in Ashimi's head called to her. 'Don't you see he's holding you back? He wants to take away your power! Your pokemon are strong because of me, I push your aura out and make it flow to them. How else would you progress so quickly?'

"Stop it!" Ashimi closed her eyes tightly and held her head. "Shut up Legend, shut up you liar!"

Ash focused his aura to calm Ashimi and sensed something evil retreating into the back of her mind. He would have to coax it out and remove it, but it wouldn't be easy. Maybe if he knew of its origins, he would know where to start. He examined the earrings. During her inner battle the cracks became deeper and the pearls were becoming gray with the loss of their power. "Tell me, please," Ash tried not to show the worry in his voice, but on the inside he was at the edge of panic. It took everything he had to stay calm and keep his relaxing aura influencing the atmosphere.

"I don't know when, I don't know how and I don't know why, but some strange power is in me," Ashimi began to explain. "It talks to me sometimes, it's evil, I know it, but it offered to bring back Zero. It betrayed me, but I thought I could tame it, learn to control it."

Ash sighed, that wasn't a lot to work with. "Let me try to sense what it is." He focused his energy on Ashimi and tried to look for the presence that didn't belong. It was bad alright, bitter, vengeful and angry, but Ash couldn't imagine what it was or where it came from, though it felt strangely familiar. "I'll have to do some research..." He finally concluded.

"It's not a pokemon, is it?" Ashimi inquired.

"No," Ash confirmed, "at least I don't think so. It's more like a spirit, but not really a ghost. Did it give you any clues?"

"Legend, that's what I usually call it. At first I hoped it was a legendary pokemon. The legendaries have always been attracted to your aura, so I was hoping that having these abilities would make them come to me too."

Ash bit his lip, there was no way a legendary would go near her in her current state. Any legendary would be repulsed by the thing possessing her. Maybe if she was completely clean of it, they would approach her some day, or maybe the stigma would remain long after the evil energy was cleansed, but he didn't have the heart to tell her of that possibility. He got up and tried to look optimistic. "Get some rest, I'll be back soon, let all your pokemon out."

Ashimi nodded, kicked off her shoes, let her pokemon out and laid down to rest. Ash exited the room to a worried Misty in the hallway. Jonathan, Dorme and Volt were behind her. Ash talked quietly with Misty for a few minutes, she had been giving the father and daughter a few moments alone.

The news wasn't good, the fact that the thing that had invaded Ashimi was unknown made it even more stressful. Misty went into the room and found it to be crowded since Ashimi had let all her pokemon out to keep her company. The young trainer was vaguely aware of the battle, and Chari seemed to be apologizing for her behavior, though Ashimi was very understanding and told her it was okay, she did feel sorry for Dragonite.

Ash looked at Jonathan, Dorme and Volt, who seemed to be waiting for him to step aside so they could go into Ashimi's room too. "I'm sorry I was so harsh on you three." Pikachu echoed the sentiment, but the three teens didn't make a big deal out of it, since they were focused on Ashimi's well being, plus they would soon find they also had Zero's absence to deal with. Ash and Pikachu disappeared down the long hallway. 

Jonathan, Volt and Dorme entered Ashimi's room, it was so full they could hardly move. Dorme held Nidorino, who seemed to already know this was coming. 'Aniki knew he would have to leave. He thought it would be best this way...' Even so, Nidorino would still miss him very much.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ash needed to have a word with Lance. He stopped as he spotted a young woman down the hallway, "Scarlett, do you know where your father is?"

"He went somewhere with Arrow, to the conference room, I think." Scarlett made an uncomfortable pause. "Is there something wrong?" She already knew the answer.

"Yes..." Ash couldn't deny it, "I just don't know exactly what it is yet."

" I hope this can be solved soon. Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I need to go now, I'm the mediator between the league's security team and Rocket security," and making then work together would definitely be a challenge. Giovanni already had the stadium in lock down, ready to arrest anyone who looked suspicious. No one went in or out, snipers blend in with the crowds, and the general public wasn't even aware that it was happening.

xoxox xox xoxox

Walking towards the elite conference room, Ash passed Giovanni down the hallway. He was yelling into a cellphone while Delia worriedly walked beside him. He shut the phone off angrily and looked at Ash, "what did you find out?"

"Not much..." Ash admitted with worried frustration. "I have some research to do."

Giovanni stood in his way. "You know something you're not telling me." He glared.

Ash couldn't help it but to look down. "In the past, I had a good reason not to tell you. As for now... Now I've come to realize that what I thought I knew might have been wrong, so I have nothing accurate to say." He paused than added, "but it might be linked to Team Rocket, maybe it was Sabrina or someone else who caused this. There is some evil thing residing in Ashimi, I just don't know what it is, so it's very hard to pull it out... It's powerful, very powerful. Right now, I just don't know..."

"I'll increase the guard even more," Giovanni finally concluded. He had more questions for Ash, but now wasn't the time to argue.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ash arrived at the door to the elite conference room. There were two people inside, one whom he recognized as Lance. It took Ash a moment to recognize the other presence, since he wasn't too familiar with it, it was the boy known as Arrow.

"Are you saying she acted that way by accident? How is that even possible?" Arrow questioned. "I admit I underestimated her, but..."

"I feel bad for Dragonite too, but I can't help it but to think there's more to this," Lance insisted. "I know Ash and I know how he must have raised his daughter. Even if she is the heir to Team Rocket, I just can't believe, she'd be purposefully cruel. She was acting strangely and there was... an issue I'm not at liberty to discuss. I need to talk to Ash, I'm sure he'll shed some light in all of this."

Ash took that as his cue to knock on the door. He announced himself in that way, but didn't wait for a reply before entering the conference room. Arrow nodded with stiff politeness and excused himself, closing the door behind him as he left.

"I was about to go talk to you," Lance sat down, feeling that this would be a long and complicated conversation.

Ash dropped into the next chair, placing his elbows on the polished round table and sighing into his palms before looking at Lance seriously. "I think my interpretation was wrong... This is bad, very bad..."

The way Ash sounded so tragic made Lance give him a look of alarm. He remembered when Ash confessed his vision to him, determined not to let it come true. Ashimi was only a toddler when Ash told Lance about the prophetic dream, which he had the night after Ashimi was born. Ash had tried to tell himself it was all in his head, a product of fatherhood nerves, but it eventually sunk in that it had to be a lot more than just a blurry nightmare. He applied himself to his studies more, albeit there was little left to be found about the aura.

The dream, the warning, had been blurry and hard to interpret. What Ash could gather from it was that Ashimi would inherit the power of Team Rocket and it would bring either great prosperity, or a terrible disaster. Seeing that Giovanni had become rather fond of his granddaughter and that he intended to make her his heir where Ash wasn't quite up to the task, Ash began to fear that his daughter would grow up to be corrupted by power.

Ash's solution was to make sure that power didn't go to her head. Ashimi was always around talented people since she was born. She was tutored by well known professors and researchers, including Gary Oak, until she became old enough to go on her pokemon journey.

Given her upbringing, it was to be expected that she turned out to be strong. Yet winning the Indigo League on her first try and moving on to her more official Rocket training at such a young age was something that Ash thought shouldn't happen. She wasn't ready, and he thought it would be best for her to continue pursuing her journey until she was more mature, until who she truly was became so solidly cemented, that her situation could not change her.

The champion of each Indigo League tournament was chosen from the previous champions. They could battle if a consensus wasn't reached. Ash would make sure that Ashimi didn't lose interest in traveling just yet, by providing her with a challenge. He stepped up to take his place as champion that year, ready to defeat his daughter for what he was sure was her own good.

Lance knew about Ash's plan and took the spot of the highest ranked elite four. His daughter would come before him and two other well known past champions before them. The elite selection of that year was the talk of every region. Volt was sure Ashimi would have a much harder time than he did, since the elites of his year were not all past champions as they were this year. Some people where even calling this year's Indigo League impossible to win.

Ash pushed forward with his explanation. "The power that the vision pointed to wasn't Team Rocket, it was something else, some evil spirit that's already in Ashimi. She doesn't know how she got it, but the fact that Sabrina made it so that her aura was exposed couldn't have been a coincidence. I don't understand this at all, if something so evil was lurking around, how did I not sense it?" Ash's frustration and worry was immeasurable.

Lance took in all the information, he paused, thinking about it with perplexity. "I don't know," he regretted to reply. "This has caught me off guard. The prophecies of the dragon masters, they fit in with your initial interpretation and I truly thought that if your daughter could be kept safe from corruption, then Team Rocket could be purified in a sense. I need to contact the elders about this."

xoxox xox xoxox

When Ashimi woke up from her long sleep, she hardly had time to shower, change, eat with her friends and hastily head out to the arena. A lack of battling wouldn't slow down the process of her aura being consumed, in fact, it was Crobat's, then Golbat, energy which momentarily woke her up when she subconsciously perceived it. Ashimi stepped on to the trainer's platform. Her deep bond with her pokemon should help her regain some of her aura's strength.

Jonathan stood at the door to the center of the stadium behind the platform where Ashimi was. Dorme and Volt were watching from other similar doors left and right, just in case they had to rush in to tend to any kind of emergency. The boy whose name no one could remember was there as well, at the door on the opposite side on the arena, behind Daala.

Ash approached quietly. "Johnny... I'm sorry about before, I was especially hash on you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, and I should be the one apologizing," Jonathan quietly replied. "I know what's going on now. Ashy told us everything over lunch, but back then I wasn't sure. I told her I would take her side and I thought that if I kept my word she'd tell me what was going on. Sorry for being so stubborn."

"Even a princess needs to be told no every now and then." Ash reminded. 

"I can tell her no..." Jonathan pouted. "It's just that the occasion to do so doesn't come often."

"Right and if she told you to jump off a cliff, you probably would, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad anymore," Ash laughed lightly.

Jonathan shrugged, taking the statement out of its metaphorical context. "Sure why not? I mean, it's not like jumping off a cliff is such a big thing to ask for and if whatever is supposed to happen to stop me from dying doesn't happen, then Nya can teleport me to safety, sounds simple enough to me."

Ash sighed and shook his head, though Jonathan didn't seem to understand the reason behind the expression. "Either way, you might have helped more than you know. Ashimi took a turn for the better after being close to her pokemon for a while. Stopping the battle abruptly wouldn't have been a good idea after all," Ash concluded. "Upsetting her makes her aura more vulnerable, I know that, but I was so worried I panicked."

"Ashy has a strong will..." Jonathan looked at the trainer's platform where she stood. 'I hope that's enough to get through this...' They quietly stood at the entrance, watching the battle take place. 'This will certainly be an interesting match,' Jonathan thought. With the instinct of a Rocket, he could pinpoint the location of the snipers in the crowd. The transparent energy shields that protected the public from stray attacks were in place, but they wouldn't stop the snipers' lasers.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi was surprised at who her opponent was, though she guessed they might be facing each other at some point. The girl in the trainer's platform opposite to hers was just standing there glaring intensely, so Ashimi decided to make the first move. "Clefable, I choose you!"

"Go Braviary!" Daala's newest pokemon emerged from his pokeball. The powerful eagle immediately took to the skies and wasted no time in commencing the attack. "Brave bird!" Braviary dove towards Clefable, starting the battle with a strong attack.

"Telekinesis and dodge!" Clefable jumped aside, focusing her power on slowing Braviary to have enough time to dodge. After the attack missed, Braviary took to the skies again. "Use gravity!" Clefable focused hard and the eagle began to lose altitude, struggling to stay in the air. "Focus blast!"

"Land, Braviary!" With some difficulty, the bird landed, losing only a few feathers to the attack. "Hyper beam!" No time was wasted before going on the offensive again.

"Watch out!" Clefable looked like she intended to dodge, but she suddenly stayed still, a shadowy aura surrounding her. She used a light screen so powerful that when the hyper beam collided with it, it broke apart into smaller beams that faded away. "Clefable?" Ashimi gasped in worry.

Clefable's telekinesis grasped Braviary's form and smashed him against the rocky terrain of the arena. She repeated the motion a few times while the bird cried out unable to escape. She held him in place, feathers flying everywhere with his constant struggle, and finally finished the battle with a powerful focus blast point blank.

"Braviary, return!" Daala recalled her injured fainted pokemon. "It seems you've decided to show your true colors all the way in the league. I'm not about to let that stop me though. Go Houndoom!"

xoxox xox xoxox

While the battle took place, Arrow passed by the exit where the boy whose name no one could remember stood. The green haired teen looked back and went to investigate, purposely heading down the opposite hallway. Arrow returned to the now empty hallway leading to the center of the stadium, bow in hand. The green haired boy, returned, appearing behind the cyan haired archer. "Want to take a shot at the princess?" He released Gyarados from his pokeball, "he might want to take a bite at you."

Arrow chuckled dismissively. "I know very well it wouldn't be that simple. I just want a better look at the battle."

"Fine, but no funny business. The league guards might have let you come this far because you know Lance, but I won't give you any special treatment. Gyarados and I are watching you and this Gyarados was trained by Ashimi herself," he proudly declared. Arrow raised an eyebrow at the announcement, but didn't say anything.

xoxox xox xoxox

"It's happening again, but its different this time," Ash realized. "The bond between Ashimi and her pokemon protects her, but it also exposes the pokemon in a similar way to her, it's getting stronger. C'mon Ashimi, balance things out..." Ash hated to admit it, but until he could figure out how to get that thing out of Ashimi, all that could be done was to try to diminish its effects. Stopping the battle wouldn't do any good either. Legend could attack at any moment anyway, and simply chose to have inconvenient timing.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi was more concerned about Clefable than about what pokemon Daala just called out. "Clefable! Are you back to normal? Clefable!" She felt her father's aura nearby and allowed it to soothe her. 'I won't let you use me as a link to my pokemon,' she focused until Legend's influence left Clefable.

"Are you okay?" Out of her trance, the pink pokemon nodded and gave a thumbs up to reassure her trainer, though the look in her eyes made it clear the experience was disturbing. "Take a break now, you'll be alright, return." Though Clefable could still battle, Ashimi couldn't leave her out there after what she went through.

"Are you going to battle or not?" Daala asked impatiently. She would rather express herself beyond words at that point, but with all the snipers around, it was best to show polite patience. Besides, even if Arrow didn't live up to her expectations, she still owed him her promised good behavior for getting her into the league last minute. Badges were not a problem, she still had her old set from Johto, but she didn't have the best track record legally speaking with the twists her vigilantism took at times.

"Lightning, I choose you!" Ashimi sent out her Pikachu to the battle. 'You leave him alone, Legend!' She warned in her mind.

'Don't worry, I will,' Legend's distorted reply echoed in Ashimi's mind. She was surprise it was even talking to her again. 'But only if you fight hard. If you don't win quickly, I'll have to interfere. Why don't you show that move your little Pikachu tried so hard to master, now he's strong enough to do it right. The lightning laser, a move developed by Team Rocket, not found in the wild, only a skilled few electric pokemon get to master it.'

'You want to see it? Fine, I'll show you we're strong without you!' Ashimi focused on the battle again. So far Lightning had been doing little else than dodging fireballs. "Sorry for the wait, let's win this! Thunder wave!" Static flooded the arena, making it hard to move.

"Fire blast!" Houndoom continued shooting flames, struggling against the static that clung to him and hindered his movements.

"Double team!" Lightning dashed around Houndoom speedily, creating the illusion that there were two Pikachus. Ashimi watched for an opportunity and finally called out, "lightning laser!"

'Don't for get to aim for the heart...' Legend mocked.

Houndoom's fire blast hit the false image, while the real Lightning's attack reached him. The canine stumbled in pain that seemed inexplicable given the thin point of light that had hit him. He fell in agony and remained on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Wait, don't make another move yet, Lightning, just keep your guard up." Ashimi took this as an opportunity to show she wasn't the bully everyone assumed she was after her previous battle. Houndoom was conscious, but he wasn't getting up.

xoxox xox xoxox

Arrow took a step forward, and was blocked by Gyarados. "Let me pass, I need to see what's wrong with Houndoom."

"You can see just fine from here," the green haired boy snapped.

Arrow clenched his teeth in anger and frustration, but he didn't back down. "Salamence!" The massive dragon emerged from her pokeball, providing Gyarados with an opponent other than her trainer. The two beasts growled, clawing and biting at each other. Arrow took advantage of the distraction and dashed into the stadium.

The green haired boy couldn't chase after the archer with Salamence in the way. Gyarados was very strong, but struggled against the powerful dragon and there wasn't enough room in the already terribly cramped hallway to call out Milotic for backup. "Snipers!" He yelled into his phone, which was set on a communication channel private to the Rockets on security and broadcasted the message to all of them. "Watch out for Arrow!"

Arrow froze as the boy's alarmed shout reached him beyond the growls and roars of the battle. He dropped his bow and arrows and proceeded slowly, keeping his hands where they were clearly visible.

Daala watched as Arrow stepped into the arena while the announcer couldn't help it but to comment his perplexity. She knew something must be terribly wrong. The hit didn't appear to be that bad and she was giving Houndoom a moment to recover when Arrow walked over to the fallen pokemon. Daala held Houndoom's pokeball to recall him, but Arrow shook his head. With growing worry and confusion, Daala stepped down from the trainer's platform and joined Arrow. "What's wrong with him?"

"It looks like Houndoom suffered a minor heart injury. He should be okay, I think, but needs to be kept in observation just in case. This isn't just a ripped muscle or a broken bone, it's internal, so it's sensitive. It's best not to recall him now," Arrow explained.

"But recalling him will help him heal," Daala petted her pokemon gently, wishing she could take away his pain. "The mechanism in the pokeball can speed up tissue regeneration and even slow internal bleeding."

"He's not bleeding," Arrow clarified, "and the last thing you want right now is for his heart tissue to regenerate too fast. Trust me," he insisted. Daala finally nodded quietly and helped Arrow carry Houndoom away.

Ashimi watched in disbelief. "What just happened?" The announcer gave her the victory because her opponent forfeited the match, but she didn't feel victorious at all.

xoxox xox xoxox

Later, Ashimi ran into the medical facilities at the stadium with Lightning in her arms. Houndoom was on a bed. Laiki was there, Daala glared angrily and Arrow stood in a corner leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed and eyes closed as if in deep thought. Salamence was back in her pokeball and his bow and arrows were on his back.

Daala glanced at Ashimi with a hateful look then continued what she was about to say, as if the redhead wasn't even there. "Why can't Joy do this?"

Arrow sighed, as if he was tired of trying to reason with her, but couldn't find it in himself to blame her for her worries. "She's a Rocket, but she's also a skilled doctor who knows a lot more than any Joy."

"More than all the Joys put together," Laiki grumbled in annoyance. Yes, she was a Rocket, no she didn't have the obligation to help Houndoom. If Scarlett had not stopped by earlier and personally requested her help, Laiki would have told them to take their precious Houndoom and go fish. Yet she did help them, even if it was for someone else's sake, so they could try to be civil, they were the ones that needed her after all, not the other way around.

Arrow didn't acknowledge the doctor's comment and continued. "Furthermore, she knows exactly what this is, most Joys wouldn't have experience dealing with this kind of thing."

"You know," Daala interrupted.

"I've only heard about it," Arrow clarified. "Plus I'm no doctor, all I know how to do is basic first aid and this is well beyond that."

Ashimi left the vigilantes to their conversation and turned her attention to Laiki for the time being. "What happened?"

"Nothing too serious," Laiki smiled. "Lightning laser was developed to be used on machines, though it has peculiar effects on muscles. It can internally burn tissue to fuse it together, cause superficially invisible, but quite annoying internal scarring, and it can even damage vital organs. If the heart tissue had fused together completely, it would be very hard for the heart to pump blood and it might stop all together."

"Since the attack wasn't maintained for long, the tissue was pushed apart by the natural flow of blood before it could be forced to fuse," Laiki explained. "In other words, the pipes of the valve, were not narrowed or blocked. Houndoom will make a full recovery, provided no unnecessary troubles arise." By that she referred more so to Daala's behavior than to Houndoom's possible health issues.

Ashimi felt her eyes water, but she didn't allow herself to cry. Lightning looked up at her with pained discomfort. "It's not your fault," she assured him. "I shouldn't have asked you to use that power. I'm sorry," she hugged the Pikachu tightly. "Daala, Arrow, I know you may not believe me, but I didn't mean for any of your pokemon to be seriously hurt. I'm sorry, I really am."

"I don't believe you," Daala growled coldly. Arrow remained silent, as if he had not heard, but everyone knew he had.

"Don't waste your breath, princess, these ingrates are not worth it." Laiki walked to the door. "I think I've done enough to accomplish Scarlett's request. If anything comes up, call Joy," the doctor left the infirmary.

Ashimi knew that no matter what she said, she wouldn't be able to change what happened or convince them of her sincerity, so she quietly left.

After Laiki and Ashimi were gone, Daala inquired. "What's your angle, I still don't get you. You help people and pokemon but you don't mess with Team Rocket. I thought you were just cowardly, but you put your life on the line back there for Houndoom. You challenged a Rocket guard and you knew there were snipers ready to kill you at any second when you stepped into the center of the stadium."

"I don't mess with Team Rocket because it's too big and it can't be taken down without an organization on its level to counter it. Of course, Team Rocket won't allow such an organization to form. I had my hopes set on Ash's daughter changing things, just as Lance did. Lance still has hope, but I lost mine. Dragonite is in Scarlett's care now. I'll go back to the way things were, training pokemon for a while, then releasing them so they can take care of their comrades in the wild. I'll return the Exeggutor you left in my care if you want, but you can keep Braviary. I'll release Jumpluff and Yanmega, then it'll be just Salamence and me again, just like old times, yet different."

"You can release Exeggutor, he belonged to a friend and keeping him would only bring back memories. You caught your other pokemon, for the league, didn't you? I suppose you were always more so a vigilante than a pokemon master hopeful. You should have used Salamence in battle from the start. She's on a whole different level than the rest of your pokemon." Arrow made no reply and Daala looked at him with intense curiosity as she continued. "You said you lost hope in Ash's daughter and what do you mean by different?"

Arrow looked at Daala, she already knew what he was talking about, but he answered anyway. "I'll take her down and end Giovanni's bloodline."

xoxox xox xox

Ashimi returned to her room where her parents and friends were waiting. She had wanted to check on Daala's pokemon by herself and apologize. She had been meaning to apologize to Arrow as well, though she wasn't truly expecting either of them to accept her apologies. She couldn't really tell them the full story. It would complicate things too much if too many people who didn't need to be involved knew.

"I apologized," Ashimi announced. "They were mad at me," she petted Lightning gently, "but I expected it. Anyway," she let out a tired breath that was very unlike her. "I've decided to quit the Indigo League." She watched as everyone reacted with surprise, but remained silent to let her finish speaking. "I know you didn't expect me to decide that, but you were going to suggest it, right dad?" Ash could only nod in affirmation. "Being with my pokemon helps me stay strong, so battling wouldn't be a problem, if not for the possibility of my pokemon being taken over. Now that we know that can happen, I understand that it's best not to take the risk."

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 39: Legend

After leaving the Indigo Plateau, Ashimi visited Pallet Town to try to relax. Misty had temporarily left the Cerulean gym in the care of Daisy's eldest son, while Ash attempted to find a way to free his daughter. At the living room in Gary's house, Ash and his childhood friend were discussing the happenings over coffee. "Your coffee is always amazing," Ash put down his cup and sighed, wishing that the warm liquid could ease him more than just momentarily.

"It comes from years of practice doing research late into the night," Gary replied. "Speaking of which, you look like you haven't slept in days."

"Not since the league..." Ash admitted. The Indigo League was still going on, though Gary knew what he meant.

"That was four days ago, you won't be able to do much like this," Gary frowned. "Take my word for it, after the second day, the brain turns to mush and doesn't recover until you sleep, no matter how much caffeine you have in your system."

"I know, but..." Ash trailed into silence, if he was just going over the same scarce ancient texts that he had already checked before, maybe he should instead use that time to recover his energy and be refreshed enough to perceive every detail of the material Misty went to get. "You're right, I should take a nap, wake me up when Misty gets back from Viridian."

Giovanni had continued the research missions and whenever the Rockets discovered something that could be related to the aura, they would report it to him. The Rocket boss would then call Ash to have a look and figure out if the artifact in question was genuine, rather than just old, and how useful to his studies of the aura it could be.

Misty had volunteered to get the new material, though it took longer than she thought. What was recovered turned out to be degraded pieces of yellowed paper that had to be pieced together and scanned, as the original articles were too fragile to be handled without the proper tools and care.

"Sure, you can-" Gary fell silent as he realized that Ash didn't even try to make it to a bed and was already sleeping while sitting on the couch.

xoxox xox xoxox

Outside, Ashimi looked over the vast land of the Oak research lab and pokemon reserve. She brushed Furball, grooming his shiny coat to perfection. "You didn't miss much, really, the battle with grandpa was way better than the Indigo League." Gary's young son, petted the feline cheerfully. "Soft like a plushie, isn't he?" Ashimi smiled.

She noticed something in the sky, a Salamence with a human rider. The dragon was intercepted by a Fearow, Pidgeot and Magnezone, all three carrying their respective trainers. The Salamence landed and was recalled, the trainer let at sword-point towards her. Ash felt bad about Johnny, so he got him another sword to replace the one he broke.

"Arrow," Ashimi voiced unsure. She wasn't expecting to see him again, let alone so soon. She could ask her friends to relent, but she knew they wouldn't.

"What, no tanks?" Arrow asked sarcastically. He felt the cold edge of the sword against his neck, but refused to acknowledge it.

Ashimi wasn't in the mood for a back and forth, so she went straight to the point. "Why are you here?"

"I had to see you for the final time, to see what kind of person you are," Arrow replied in a critical tone.

"I am... unavailable right now, maybe some other time..." Ashimi turned away and continued brushing Furball.

"You heard her," Volt half growled.

"Time to get lost," Jonathan added.

"What are you hiding?" Arrow insisted.

"Your corpse if you don't leave." Dorme held on to his temporarily confiscated bow and arrows.

"I should have known that coming here was useless. Farewell, Rocket princess, may your loyal bodyguards watch over you," Arrow walked away, his goodbye wasn't just sarcasm, it was a warning. He knew the lasers in the atmosphere must be active, along with satellite surveillance. He knew he was locked on the second he got close to Pallet Town, even before Ashimi's trio of guards stopped him. But she couldn't live like that all the time, there had to be a moment when the Rocket empire lowered its guard and he would cease the moment, even if it cost him his life. He paused for a moment and looked back when Ashimi's loud voice echoed.

'The Rocket princess, that's all you are, if not for your heritage they wouldn't give you a second glance,' Legend mocked, the twisted voice echoing in Ashimi's mind.

"Stop it!" She yelled, "that's not true you liar!" She breathed heavily as rage mixed with fear that it was right overtook her.

The little boy beside her cried out and Ashimi returned to her senses. "It's okay sweetie, I'm not mad at you. I wasn't yelling at you, I'm sorry I startled you." The boy quieted, but doubt and distrust filled his big green eyes and he dashed away. "Wait, don't go!"

"I'll get him," Dorme handed Volt the bow and arrows then ran after the young toddler, she caught up to him and picked him up. He seemed to be okay now.

Ashimi sighed, now even children would be afraid of her. Furball rubbed against her legs to comfort her while the rest of her pokemon arrived from playing with the other pokemon in the Oak land, having rushed over when they heard her scream. "I'm okay everyone, really..."

"Move," Jonathan ordered.

Arrow kept walking, he has seen enough anyway and now he found an explanation for Ashley's strange behavior. He was escorted by Jonathan and Volt out of Pallet Town. The vigilante didn't try to turn back, he knew he wouldn't make it far if he did. Salamence could take on Fearow and Magnezone to knock his escorts out of the sky, but the lasers in the atmosphere would take him out. If it was night time, he could probably see them, glimmering overhead like strange stars. He wondered what Daala would say if she knew the truth, that the direct descendant of the Rocketto mafia was insane.

xoxox xox xoxox

In the living room, Ash found himself in a vast darkness in the world of his dreams.

"The mission was a success," a young man with brown and blond hair spoke to a regal woman. A Persian and a Vulpix stood by his side.

"Barely," the woman pouted lightly. "But it will do, even if you go back again, the rest is out of ours hands."

The blurry vision faded. Ash recognized the boy who once called himself Skye. Now that he was well versed in the aura, he not only remembered him, he knew him, the boy was a descendant of his. The glimpse of the future warned him of a turning point in destiny that not even time travel could resolve should it proceed badly, because if it did, the force would be too strong to be erased by time.

Seeing that dream again, the same dream he had when Ashimi was a newborn, felt different from simply remembering it. Now he could look deeper into it, in ways that a mere memory wouldn't be sufficient to allow. Why would something as powerful as time travel fail? What was the origin of that evil creature known as Legend?

Another series of images came, blurry and fast. A baby glowing with pure white energy, swirls of black surrounding her. The same girl appeared again as a young woman standing on a hill. A large crowd surrounded her, shadowy faceless figures with glowing red Rs on their chests, they raised their hands as if in salute, and the darkness they possessed flowed towards the woman. She received it all and the now dim white that shone around her faded into nothingness. She became a shadow and her eyes glowed red.

Ash stirred in his sleep, but didn't wake up. The second and third parts of the dream replayed, with him noticing more detail each time. The baby, the white light that grew around her, the way the darkness accumulated. Then the woman he knew to be the baby as a young adult, his daughter. Her light faded, consumed by the darkness and Team Rocket was all around. He could only think of his original interpretation, but it couldn't be right, it wasn't Team Rocket that would corrupt Ashimi, it was Legend, but what was Legend?

xoxox xox xoxox

Dorme exited the Oak residence, rejoining her friends outside. Ashimi had sat on the grass absentmindedly staring into the distance. "Our little friend is napping," the blond announced.

"Looks like we have another visitor," Volt looked at the fence that separated the Oak land from Pallet's main road.

Ashimi wasn't really listening to the conversation around her. Jonathan tried tapping her on the shoulder, but she didn't notice. 'You're nothing without your birthright, they'll never see the real you and they wouldn't care if they did. You're Giovanni's granddaughter, you're Ash's daughter, but you're nothing on your own.' Legend wouldn't shut up and Ashimi didn't know how to stop it. Worse yet, she couldn't bring herself to complain anymore because she kept thinking that it was telling the truth this time.

A Gyarados climbed over the fence, his body stretching and dropping to the other side, then moving forward like a snake. The boy on his back hopped off and thanked the pokemon for the ride, then recalled him into his pokeball. He rushed over to join the group around Ashimi. "Hey everyone!" He went down on one knee in front of the spot where Ashimi sat. "Lady Misty, Lady Delia and Lord Giovanni himself will be arriving here very soon." Seeing as she made no response, he continued. "Is there anything you need, princess?"

"Don't..." Ashimi's blank face suddenly gained an expression of anger. "Don't call me princess!" A burst of shadowy energy emerged from her and went into the pokemon closest to her at the time, Furball. The feline's form grew larger, but this was no ordinary Persian, his eyes were glowing red, his fur turned pitch black and his claws and fangs grew much larger than normal.

A helicopter landed nearby and Giovanni exited, his attention caught by the spectacle. Furball tackled the green haired boy, but only to get him out of the way as he dashed towards Giovanni. "Stop this at once!" Giovanni shouted in his most commanding tone, with a fiery fearless glare that left no question about who the boss was.

Furball stopped cold as the swirls of shadowy energy left him and his fur regained its natural light shade. His fangs still protruded from his mouth and his claws were still very long, but his eyes looked normal, genuine, conscious. The shadowy energy retreated into Ashimi, causing her to yelp in a mix of surprise and pain. She shook as if assaulted by a sudden fear, then a terrible burning rage.

Ashimi closed her eyes tightly, shutting off the world around her. When her senses refocused, she could perceive whispers of comforting words and the familiarity of her mother's arms. "Mom... Grandma... Grandpa..."

"What was that?" Giovanni questioned. His two Persians were with him, though Purry thought the evolution was pretty cool and was more likely to congratulate her son than to worry.

"Furball!" Ashimi gasped. She broke away from the protective embrace and held her now evolved pokemon. "Does it hurt? Are you okay? I think it left you... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" She held him with tears in her eyes, petting his soft fur. Furball tried to comfort his trainer, to tell her that everything would be okay and that he wasn't hurt.

Ashimi slowly lifted her head and met Giovanni's questioning eyes. "It was afraid for a second, Legend... Then it was as if it remembered that it no longer answered to you and it was angry."

"No longer?" Misty questioned with sudden urgency.

"I don't understand," Ashimi admitted. "It just felt that way."

"How is that even possible?" Giovanni thought aloud, "they've found nothing..."

"Let's see what Ash has to say..." Misty breathe. The possibility of Legend being something linked to Giovanni's past was a point she brought up, though that conversation ended abruptly due to unexpected circumstances.

xoxox xox xoxox

Earlier, Misty had arrived at the Viridian Rocket headquarters to personally pick up deliver the top secret documents related to the aura to Ash, or rather, the information retrieve from them. While they were being prepared, she went to see Delia.

Misty found Delia at the hall in front of Giovanni's door, with a cell phone, just finishing a call. "Thank you, Lance, I'll let Ash know." Though there was nothing new to say, as the elders insisted on blaming Team Rocket, albeit they said, 'the evil of Team Rocket' rather than simply 'Team Rocket' and Lance pointed out the importance of that phrasing, indicating that Team Rocket, even if it did control the world, didn't necessarily need to be seen as a force of evil.

Delia hung up and turned her attention to Misty, sharing the information Lance just gave her, which was more so a recap of what Ash had been told long ago. "I'm going to check on a few things, you go right in, make yourself at home, there's cookies and tea."

Before Misty could protest, Delia had opened the door to Giovanni's office and gently guided her inside, closing the door after her. Misty's ears were assaulted by the Rocket boss loud voice, which culminated with the slamming of the phone accompanied by a sickening crack that meant it was now broken. Misty stood frozen, rooted to the spot with a deerling caught in the headlights expression.

"What is it?" Giovanni growled impatiently. "Do you have something to say?"

Misty swallowed hard, Giovanni always made her nervous. He was her father-in-law and that perhaps concerned her more than the fact that he was the boss of Team Rocket. "Yes," Misty summoned her courage and asked about something that was bothering her. She had not planned to confront Giovanni, but she was there, so she might as well make use of the opportunity. "Do you know anything about Legend? Something related to Team Rocket, something supernatural?"

"I haven't messed with the supernatural in years, not since before Ashimi's birth," Giovanni replied with little patience. Ash had explained why he never told him of the prophecy until now. He thought Giovanni might let it happen if it made Team Rocket more powerful. "I have paranormal researchers on the job just in case anyway. Is that all you wanted to say?"

Misty's head was pounding. She already had a headache when she arrived, but now it was at a point where it was impossible to ignore. She had gotten no rest since the Indigo League incident and had little appetite. She felt a wave of dizziness hit her, but it wasn't the first, so she ignored it as she had before. She wanted to say something else, but her thoughts were muddled by the ache in her head and the numbness in her limbs, so she could only think of sitting down. "I... Can I..."

Giovanni noticed something was off. He stood, walking around his desk with a look of questioning impatience. If she was just babbling, even if she was his daughter-in-law, she was about to get an earful. "What?" He snapped, tired of the sudden silence, and she promptly fainted.

Giovanni caught Misty and deposited her into the nearest chair as carefully as possible. He reached for the phone on his desk to find a broken mess, which he threw across the room. Misty woke with the noise and looked around disoriented. She recalled where she was and struggled to her feet. "The documents..." She shook her head in an effort to clear it. "Excuse me," she stumbled for the door, gripping the handle for support.

"You're obviously ill," Giovanni observed sternly, but he wasn't yelling anymore.

Misty shook her head, "it's just exhaustion, but right now there's no time to-" another wave of dizziness assaulted her and she clenched her teeth as she fought it off. She gripped the door knob tightly and let herself out.

"Go to the infirmary," Giovanni ordered.

Misty shook her head, suddenly feeling stubborn, her mood wasn't any better than his after all. "I don't have time for that. I'm going to help, I'm going to make sure Ashimi is okay."

Delia return with a case holding a small data chip inside. "The documents are ready... Misty, are you alright, sweetie?" She frowned and eyed her husband, "Giovanni didn't yell at you, did he?"

"She fainted," Giovanni informed. "Take her to a doctor."

"Of course!" Delia placed a gentle hand on Misty's arm, "let's go, dear."

Misty pouted and glared. Giovanni knew that if he sent anyone else to escort her, she would slip away, but she didn't have the heart to disappear on Delia and leave her to worry. "I'm fine, really," the redhead insisted. "I should be taking the data to Ash." It wasn't to be transmitted wirelessly due to its rare nature, not that many could interpret it anyway, better safe than sorry. Besides, Giovanni had his suspicions about a certain group, who would be best left in the dark if they truly didn't already know. Ash didn't want to be far from Ashimi and he didn't want to take her out of the calming environment of the Oak land.

"Sweetie, if Giovanni of all people is sending you to see a doctor, then you're going to see a doctor," Delia's voice was gentle yet she spoke with finality. "Besides, I didn't have the chance to take a good look before, but you're clearly more than just tired. Have you been eating properly?"

Misty sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "No," she admitted. "I've been very stressed and it's making me nauseous."

"You can't take care of Ashimi if you don't take care of yourself," Delia reminded. "She doesn't need to worry about her mother's health on top of everything."

"I know..." Misty massaged her temples. "Let's just make it quick."

xoxox xox xoxox

In the Oak living room, Ash was submerged in a deep sleep. The woman in his dream was Ashimi, but she was older. That part of the dream didn't correspond to the present and it wasn't exactly the future either, but a possible future. He began to realize that the two portions of the dream that took place in the future, near and far, were indicative of the same thing. The future would come, it was inevitable. The light... The darkness... There was something more about that, he almost had it... Then he jolted awake.

Ash saw Gary as he went out, though the researcher was focused on the helicopter and didn't notice Ash was awake. Ash saw the change in Furball and how the evil energy retreated from Giovanni, but only the small portion that was in Furball. Then it hit him, he had the last piece of the puzzle. The dragon elders had been right, it was Team Rocket, the evil of Team Rocket, and it was inevitable.

Ash rushed out, he accompanied his daughter inside, with Misty on her other side, Delia not far behind and her pokemon all around. He calmed Ashimi's aura and suggested taking a nap. Though Ashimi wasn't normally the type to nap, she agreed, just to get away from everything in slumber. Her pokemon crowded around her in Gary's guest room and her friends were there as well.

With a bitter silence, Ash received the new information and studied it. His findings provided the final clarification and that only made him feel worse.

xoxox xox xoxox

That night... "Of all the places to sit," Giovanni looked up out the window of what once was Ash's room.

"I'm not coming down," Ash called back stubbornly, he needed to be alone to organize his thoughts and Pikachu's quiet presence beside him was the only company he was willing to tolerate. Giovanni responded by retracing his son's steps and climbing onto the roof of the small house. Ash sighed, "you expect me to talk."

"After coming all the way here, you better," Giovanni confirmed. "Misty asked about Team Rocket's involvement in the super natural even if we had already talked about it after the league. Delia spoke with Lance and got a repetition of what you told me after the league, but there's more to it and something tells me you just solved the puzzle."

"I did," Ash admitted, "but I can't blame you, because if I do I'll have to blame myself too. I don't think Sabrina was trying to be evil, but she did choose the sacrifice that would be made and I can't accept that. Maybe we really are alike. I mean, I've never thought about ruling the world, but if I must choose between the world and my loved ones, I wouldn't play the hero, I'm not that noble. Sabrina set things up for the evil to be slain and I'm worried she'll come back to finish the job."

"Details," Giovanni insisted, "explain it so that it makes sense, no more missing pieces."

Ash nodded and took a deep breath. "Team Rocket has done many things. All the consequences, all the negative energy, it will stay until it is balanced out, and while it stays, it will serve as a negative influence. Don't you think it's strange how Team Rocket has developed? You'd think we should have more than a handful of vigilantes protesting. The general public has accepted Team Rocket and the fear is fading. Team Rocket's rule is beginning to be perceived as normal, why isn't there more bitterness? Where has all the negativity gone?"

"Legend..." Giovanni realized. "Legend is the legendary Team Rocket, or the consequence of it. It's a supernatural manifestation... That's why that power retreated from that furball, it responded to me when it was in a small quantity, but the amount that resides in Ashimi won't listen to me."

"Exactly, while it was spread out in the hearts of many, I couldn't sense it because it's normal for some darkness to reside in the hearts of people, no living creature in this world is pure good or pure evil. Then when it got to Ashimi, it hid behind her own presence. That explains my dream," Ash briefly went over the three parts of the dream briefly, then elaborated.

"The people of the far future can't do anything about this with time travel, because this is destined to happen as long as Team Rocket exists. They wouldn't want to get rid of Team Rocket, plus even if they did, the world would meet a worse fate, since Team Rocket did contribute to many things that turned out to be vital, including Pokerus. It's ironic, but in one way or another, without Team Rocket's influence, pokemon could be extinct, the world could fall under the rule of a different force, who knows what could happen..."

"At least we agree that Team Rocket is necessary, albeit for different reasons," Giovanni voiced.

"The negative energy is still an issue though. If it got out of hand Team Rocket will be so hated it wouldn't be able to maintain its rule. That's the third part of the dream, an older Ashimi rising to power, a possible future that will never be, because she won't obtain that evil from Team Rocket in the future, she has it now. That part of the vision indicates that facing that evil is inevitable." Ash fell silent, the next part was very hard to explain.

Giovanni ended the silence and prompted, "and the part with the baby?"

"No one is pure good or pure evil... Except a pure good newborn child or a pure evil supernatural manifestation, but neither remains pure for long." Ash continued with difficulty. "The vision, if I had interpreted it correctly from the start, would have given me a choice. The first part told me that I had to choose or destiny would choose. The second and third parts were the options. Do nothing and have the evil fade through the generations. Team Rocket could still be salvaged then, possibly by a future leader, but each leader would have to do their part, a reminder that facing this was indeed inevitable. The Rocket rule would be filled with battles and wars. Negativity and positivity are attracted to their opposite, but only in hopes of consuming it. It would have been hard, and both the Rockets and the world would suffer through the generations, but in the end, I think things would settle into a prosperous kingdom."

"The other option was to make Ashimi remain pure good for a period of time longer than normal. Even children have mischief, the smallest specks to balance their purity. Yet Ashimi was always so innocent, if she got into mischief it wasn't out of real mischief, but because she was playing and honestly didn't think she was doing anything she shouldn't. She never lied, she always trusted. I thought she was just a little sheltered, but that it would be okay because she would mature at her own pace through her journey."

Ash's voice caught in his throat. "I thought the dream was telling me, do this or suffer the consequences, but it was actually telling me to choose a consequence and I chose the worse one. I studied the aura, I tried to protect Ashimi, to purify her energy. She was filled with so much goodness that she connected with pokemon easily and attracted success. But because she was imbalanced, she was also a magnet for evil. Yet as long as she remained pure good, it couldn't touch her." 

"It was inevitable though. No matter what I do, kids grow up, they get angry, jealous, frustrated and that's normal. But the darkness hiding in all the hearts connected to Team Rocket, directly or not, had already been attracted to her light. When that insignificant little bit of darkness appeared, it opened the door. Don't you see?" Ash snapped in self directed anger.

"This evil could have been diminished through the generations. But I used my aura to purify hers, I told her they were just relaxation techniques, but I thought I was saving her. Instead of saving her what I did was choose to sacrifice her. Instead of the evil being diminished through the generations, it all collected in her. If it takes over completely, the evil side of Team Rocket will be personified through Ashimi, her very soul will be consumed with no hope of reincarnation, and Legend is clinging to her so much that I can't remove it."

Ash's voice almost failed him as he confessed, "I don't know what to do." Tears rolled down his face. "If only I knew about those documents sooner, they held a warning related to the text I studied years ago, about balance and the consequences of extremes."

As Ash went on, several details stood out to Giovanni. "Team Rocket is destined to rule the world as its kingdom with what you just explained in the first part of your dream. It'll be easier for the world if it's purified now, rather than through the generations. In any state that it may be, I will not dissolve Team Rocket. Yet that future doesn't guarantee Ashimi's survival because she is not your only descendant."

"I'm so terrible, I was so caught up in thinking I failed that I didn't realize Misty wasn't taking care of herself." Giovanni could point out that Ash was in the same state, but he remained silent and didn't interrupt. "When Misty told me she was pregnant I just about fell apart, but I couldn't tell her I doomed Ashimi, so I put up an act and avoided her. When I realized what I had done, I held on to the future for hope. If those people, the woman and her son, were my distant descendants then Ashimi had to have lived. But now I don't know, there's no way to tell, they could be the distant descendants of Ashimi's sibling. If that's the case then there would be no paradox even if she..." Even if she died, though he dared not voice the word.

"I find it peculiar that the documents containing the warning resurfaced now, as if to provide some kind of clue on how to defeat Legend by knowing what it is," Giovanni pointed out. His suspicions about that certain group resurfaced. There was no use in trying to keep them in the dark, they already knew, they knew so much more than they pretended to know. "How could my agents missed such an artifact for so long, how could everyone miss it? Who gave you the first portion?"

Ash's eyes widened as his train of thought let him somewhere dark. "Lance... But he wouldn't purposely give me incomplete information. Even if Ashimi's sacrifice might be better for the world, he has a daughter too, he would understand." Before Giovanni could present an argument, Ash reached another realization. "The elders!" He could feel his heart beats quicken as he reached conclusions. "I've never spoken to them, they always communicate through Lance. If they tricked Lance, he would believe he's being honest and I wouldn't sense any traps from him."

"They knew Team Rocket's rule was inevitable, so they sped up the path to a prosperous kingdom by gathering all the negativity in one place and setting things up for a showdown," Giovanni concluded in anger. "They're giving you clues expecting you to slay the evil, because they know you're the only one strong enough to do it. If her soul is consumed she will not reincarnate, but it has not been consumed yet."

Ash's expression became horrified, "they want me to kill her. They want me to sacrifice her life to kill the evil and save her soul. No two lifetimes are the same, I can't just throw her to the afterlife and hope next time goes better. Plus her soul might be injured in the process and I don't even want to think of what consequences that would bring, consequences that could last for countless lifetimes."

"I'll order an expedition to the dragon temple immediately," the fire in Giovanni's eyes was fierce. This would not be a mere investigation, in would be a severe punishment.

"No," Ash ordered darkly. "Don't make Team Rocket's deeds worse, it'll all go back to Ashimi. Team Rocket can't be involved, you as it's leader can't be involved. I'll be the one to carry the consequences. Misty's sharp, I managed to make her drop the questions because she was tired, but tomorrow she'll be full of energy and ready to squeeze every drop of information out of me. I don't want her to do something crazy and your secrecy is about impossible to crack, so I know she won't get anything out of you. Please watch over Ashimi and tell mom to make sure Misty doesn't strain herself, she'll listen to her, mom has her ways to make people listen. I'm going to get some answers, I'll be back soon."

"You'll need back up." Before Ash protested with the same Team Rocket argument, Giovanni specified, "not in the name of Team Rocket."

"You and those who are Rockets are too closely linked to Team Rocket," Ash argued.

"So are you," Giovanni pointed out. "Besides, if the primary reason to do this is because they want to, rather than for Team Rocket, it'll be each individual's karma to carry, not another of Team Rocket's deeds. Plus it's all for the sake of saving Ashimi."

Giovanni's male Persian emerged from the window and climbed up to the roof, declaring his willingness to go on the mission. Furball's evolution and the way everyone kept pointing out how much like Purry he was, further contributed to his determination to get back into the action like he decided after Ashimi and Giovanni's pokemon battle royale. "You want to go?" Giovanni patted the feline's head, "you've been more stubborn than usual lately."

"I'd rather not involve the pokemon," Pikachu protested and Ash had no choice but to add, "except you."

"No pokemon? That doesn't make sense," Giovanni argued. "There are other weapons, but pokemon power will be useful. There will be a lot of security, there won't be much of a chance of getting too far undetected. So basically, you're going to break into the temple and force your way to the elders' chamber, that will require power."

"I'm also going to hold a bunch of old people hostage and extract information from them, by force if necessary and I don't want to ask my pokemon to assist me in torturing the elderly, or anyone for that matter." It felt so strange to say it, but Ash knew that though the way of the aura taught him otherwise, he would lose it when he faced the people that decided sacrificing his daughter would be worth it in the long run. His attention was caught by a light above and he realized he had been so lost in thought he didn't notice Charizard until he was in hearing distance.

The fire pokemon landed and communicated with Ash without problems despite not speaking the human language. "You saw the Indigo League on TV and came to give Chari an earful? I think she learned her lesson... And what do you mean you want in, you weren't even here to hear the whole conversation." Charizard insisted and Ash finally agreed. "We should leave right away, before they start to expect it."

Before anything more could be said, Ash's phone rang as he received a call from Lance. "Ash, sorry to call so late, but I really need to talk to you," the dragon master sounded very worried and angry. "I started to have suspicions and... We've been tricked."

"I know," Ash frowned. "Listen," he spoke seriously. "I'm going to get some answers from the elders. I'll beat them out if I must. Don't get in the way, tell your family to stay away from the temple and get the innocents out. If anyone gets in the way..." Ash didn't finish, but he didn't have to.

There was a long tense silence until Lance finally replied, "I understand."

After hanging up, Ash climbed on Charizard's back along with Pikachu and Persian. "We'll be back soon," he told his father before taking off.

Giovanni watched him go and when he was out of hearing distance he looked into the skies, his eyes locked on what appeared to be a peculiar star, "make sure of that."

xoxox xox xoxox

When the morning came, just as Ash expected, Misty was looking for him. She was planning to dust things off at the house where Ash grew up, so they could get settled in and stay in Pallet for a while, since the town had such a peaceful atmosphere. Delia insisted on helping, filled with the nostalgia of her home of many years.

Giovanni excused Ash, saying he had gone off to discuss a few things with Lance, and hoped the topic would be dropped before everyone gathered for breakfast. Delia, Misty and Laiki, who had arrived late the previous night, had already prepared it. Mostly Delia and Misty, since Laiki was used to buying food and never really cooked.

"Did Ash have a sudden burst of inspiration last night? I woke up in the middle of the night and he wasn't there, so I thought he might have gone out to clear his head. You went after him didn't you?" Misty inquired, already knowing the answer. She began to set plates on the table, handing a bunch to Giovanni.

"Yes," Giovanni replied simply. It made sense that she would think that he was the last to speak to Ash, since he was the only one who knew where he had gone. Yet Misty's attitude seemed different today, rather inquisitive. Giovanni made a note to escape back to the Viridian headquarters before Misty and Delia somehow dragged him into cleaning duties, he had already been half-tricked into helping set the table.

Misty went on about looking forward to hearing Delia's stories about what happened at each corner of the house when Ash was a little boy and about her plans to tell Ashimi, who was currently sleeping in, about her future sibling. Giovanni gave her a questioning look that made her smile, though it was only a half smile weighed down by her worries despite not being aware of the whole situation. "What Ashimi needs right now is to be surrounded by positivity. It's not easy, but I know I need to be strong for her. I also wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" Giovanni questioned.

"Yes," Misty explained. "I thought I was just nervous because of the Indigo League, but I was meaning to get a pregnancy test just in case my symptoms where more than that. With all that happened I had so much to worry about that I forgot. I know the doctor was just giving me a full check up by standard procedures, but if you hadn't sent me there, I still wouldn't know about the baby. A baby's aura is very small, it hides behind the mother so to speak, so Ash wouldn't notice unless he was specifically looking for it, and even then it's hard to sense. I've been so worried about Ashimi that I disregarded my own health. Pregnant or not, it was going to catch up with me, I might have gotten myself bedridden or maybe lose the baby if I kept that up." She paused a took a deep breath, "so thank you, I know we don't talk often, but I hope to change that."

Giovanni couldn't help it but to wonder if Ash was really exaggerating when he claimed that Misty had the ability to smell secrets. Laiki's green eyes were watching him like a Staraptor and he knew for a fact that she did have a mysterious ability to sense secrets. If he ordered her to do something at headquarters during her day off, she would know for sure something was up, and find out even faster. So instead he waited for Misty to look away as she peeked out of the kitchen to see what was taking so long, and shook his head at Laiki. The blond gave a quick nod, acknowledging the order to remain silent, but it was clear she was dying to know what was going on.

She didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it, as Gary rushed in. "She's gone," everyone's attention immediately focused on the researcher. "Delia went to get Ashimi for breakfast, but she wasn't there. Jonathan, Dorme, Volt and Ashimi's pokemon were on the floor of her room as if they had sleepwalked and fainted. Delia's trying to wake them, they're a bit lightheaded, but otherwise alright."

No sooner had the explanation finished when they all rushed into Ashimi's room. Jonathan, Dorme and Volt were still dizzy, but had managed to sit up, Ashimi's pokemon were in the same condition, along with Nidorino. They were disoriented and could only go on about a strange dream, yet they had no idea where Ashimi could have gone. Jonathan, Dorme and Volt's pokemon had been sleeping inside their pokeballs, which were found on the floor next to their trainers, their condition was no different than the pokemon that were outside.

Giovanni began to question the security team immediately. The satellite surveillance showed no indication of Ashimi leaving and no psychic energy was detected. Then a thought occurred to Giovanni. Legend was immense, it had to be, yet it could hide behind Ashimi's aura. It's powers were clearly growing as Ashimi absorbed more energy, what if it could teleport? It technically wouldn't be psychic energy, it was a type of negative energy that they didn't have the equipment to detect.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 37: Giovanni calling Zero a glitch is a reference to Vanellope from Wreck it Ralph, since Zero was in part inspired by the Sugar Rush racers and in part by Megaman. The rules of the Indigo League were partially based on the Nuzlocke Challenge. Zero's line "finish him!" Was a reference to Mortal Kombat, since a fatality almost happened. XD I'm sure you've noticed by now, but Chari is rather sadistic.

Chapter 38: Lance's daughter, Scarlett, is named after his daughter from Nafatali's fanfiction series, The Inheritance. Nafatali is rewriting the series as an awesome original steam punk story. Ash's quote: "This is bad, very bad..." is a reference to Bob from Reboot.

Chapter 39: Some parts of Ash's dream were inspired by a certain dream sequence in Blessed Defiance by Rocketlord6485 (which I also recommend.) The talk about Pokerus and the past danger of a pokemon extinction are references to events that take place in Don't Give Me Diamonds.

xoxox xox xoxox

Characters

Evazan Embo aka Arrow: A sixteen year old boy from Johto known as a vigilante in his home region. He has cyan hair and honey colored eyes. He generally avoids Team Rocket and sticks to catching small time criminals that slip under the radar, and helping pokemon in the wild as a sort of ranger. This is because he hoped that Ash's daughter would change Team Rocket for the better. He has a deep respect and admiration for Lance. Following the long standing tradition of this story, Evazan's name also comes from Star Wars.


	14. Chapter 14

Awakening

Chapter 40: Friends

When Misty had woken up in the middle of the night to find that Ash was gone, she got a glass of water and went back to bed, too tired to figure out where he ran off to. She stopped by the room Ashimi was staying at and she was still there, asleep in a living cocoon formed by her pokemon.

Ashimi must have been taken in the very early morning. Why her friends were unconscious in the room when they were discovered was probably connected to the strange dreams they had, of which they could only remember bits and pieces. The boy whose name no one could remember was found in the same conditions, though he had the poor luck of somehow sleep walking in the wrong direction and ending up outside, he had a slight cold to show for it.

The dreams had all been part of the same one, which put things into perspective for Ashimi, with an unexpected yet intended result. She didn't doubt her friends, but she willingly and knowingly walked into the trap thinking it was best that way.

In the world of dreams, Ashimi's doubts resurfaced. She was nothing but a name, not her own person. Yet in the endless darkness she found several points of light. "My pokemon..." Lightning, Crobat, Clefable, Furball, Chari and Wartortle were all there. "You really don't care about where I came from or what I am, just who I am... Thank you... But do the others feel the same?"

'Why don't we ask them?' Legend's warped voice echoed in the endless nothingness. "Answer the question, Volt, you were never fond of Team Rocket. You never liked the elusive Ashley either, you couldn't wait to beat her if she ever dared to set foot in your gym."

Volt heard the voice in his dreams and couldn't help it but to answer with his true thoughts. "I hated Team Rocket and its heir... But I don't anymore. Team Rocket is inevitable and even necessary, we need to make it the best it could be. I misjudged Ashimi like I misjudged my brother. I didn't know them, but now I do. Since our battle, I've realized Ashimi is different from what I thought, different in a good way."

"You had no choice but to put up with her, the same as Team Rocket and Electro!" Legend argued.

"That's not true!" Volt defended. "I have a choice and I choose to see past what people are, I choose to look at who they are!"

"Volt... I'm very happy to hear that, thank you," Ashimi smiled and her dream didn't seem so bad anymore. "It looks like you were wrong, Legend."

"Genesis, tell us why you are even here. It is to serve your precious princess and climb the ranks, isn't it? That is the only reason why you acknowledge her!" Legend taunted, sure that it would work this time.

"I can't be called by my real name even in dreams..." The green haired boy sighed. "What is this voice in my head? It can't be my own thoughts because I know my own name. But it does kind of sound like my thoughts except it's not like that anymore. Ashimi is a kind person, right now I could be at headquarters continuing my training and signing up for missions. I would probably make more progress that way, but I would rather be standing by at Pallet because my friend Ashimi is there. I didn't think the Rocket princess was capable of such kindness to someone like me, but she's different from what I expected. I don't have to bend backwards serving her to climb the ranks and I don't care about that anymore. I'm here to make sure my friend is okay."

"You really don't care about rank anymore?" Ashimi was a bit surprised. "Thank you, Ceodore, though that's probably not your name either, I still appreciate that you're here. What are you trying to prove, Legend?"

Legend didn't reply and instead moved on. "Dorme, why don't you tell us how much you despise Ashley. She was always treated in a special way because she's Giovanni's granddaughter, she's your rival even if you're so much better than her. You don't have to tolerate her here in the world of your dreams. You can show your true feelings, you hate her, don't you?"

"Not anymore..." Dorme's voice was quiet at first, then became stronger as she went on. "I thought Ashimi was a pest and I wished she would just go away. But she didn't even try to become my rival, I was the one who declared her as such. We've become true friends now. She's not a spoiled brat, I just didn't know the real Ashimi before, she's actually very nice. If she wasn't the Rocket princess we might have become friends sooner, but I guess we were simply meant to be good friends because it happened anyway."

"Thank you, Dorme, you're a true friend. It's over, Legend, you're not going to make me doubt. Your plan backfired," Ashimi tried to push Legend's influence away, but there was still one more left.

"What about your dear knight? He met you all those years ago only because his parents dragged him off to see the princess. If you weren't the Rocket princess, he wouldn't be so loyal to you. He'll never see you for who you are, he'll only see the princess and nothing more," Legend mocked.

"That's..." Ashimi wanted to say that it wasn't true, but she couldn't find her voice.

"That's not true at all," Jonathan replied instead. "When I was a small child, I was taken to see a princess and I had a very childish view of what the princess would be like. I waited for a while for the princess to fulfill my expectations, but then I realized that she never would. I got over that first impression years ago. Then I left, I told myself I was being silly to waste my time playing with that girl who was just like an ordinary girl more so than a fairytale princess," Jonathan recalled.

Ashimi found herself remembering that time as well. She didn't see Jonathan for a long time and wondered why he didn't play with her anymore. Then he came back one day. "Where did you go? I missed you! Don't you want to be my friend anymore?" She could almost hear the words from her younger self.

"Then I went back because I realized that I had fun hanging out with Ashy just the way she was. I went back because I wanted to and I stayed because I wanted to. The whole princess and knight thing is just an inside joke between two close friends. Even if she had been someone else, even if we haven't met all those years ago, we would still somehow get to where we are today, I just know it."

"Johnny... Thank you for always being there for me, I'll never have these doubts again!" Ashimi focused on fighting off Legend and shattering his hold on her pokemon and friends. Her friends' pokemon were there as well, giving her their support.

Ashimi woke up from her sleep to find her friends and pokemon fainted on the floor. The green haired boy was missing, but she imagined that he should be in the same conditions as the others. Their life aura was stressed. "I'm hurting you all..." Ashimi removed Zero's data crystal and placed it in the fainted Nidorino's paws. "I'm sorry Zero, I understand now how I was hurting you. I don't want to be used as a hostage either. If I was out of the way, Legend could be defeated."

Legend's presence once again crept up from the depths of her mind. 'Do you really believe that?'

'Legend...' Ashimi made a choice. 'You wanted me to think my friends didn't care, you wanted me to doubt them and run away. I still have a hold on this vessel, you can't move it with complete freedom without my permission. I will leave, but not because I doubt my loved ones, it's because I trust them. If I'm out of the way, they'll defeat you, so go on, kick me out of my own body, leave me as a ghost.'

'I'd much rather consume your soul,' Legend hungrily replied.

'You never will,' Ashimi shot back. 'You're underestimating them again, my friends, my pokemon, my family, I won't be a hostage anymore and they will defeat you.'

'We can at least agree on one thing,' Legend voiced in its usual distorted tone. 'There is no reason to remain here.' With an energy that wasn't quite psychic and didn't truly belong to any element wielded by pokemon, Legend's shadowy power surrounded Ashimi and she disappeared.

xoxox xox xoxox

In the morning, everyone was in a rush looking for Ashimi. As soon as Chari was awake enough to fly, she dashed out with Lightning, Wartortle, Clefable, Furball and Nidorino on her back. It might have been a lot to carry, but she was strong and filled with unbreakable determination. Crobat flew beside the group, all of them heading into the distance, following their instinct to try to find Ashimi.

Jonathan, Dorme and Volt rushed outside, calling out Fearrow, Pidgeot and Magnezone respectively. "Wait for me!" The green haired boy called after them.

"Where are you going? You haven't answered my questions!" Giovanni shouted after them.

"Sorry boss, but we don't have the answers!" Jonathan took off on Fearow.

"We'll report it if we find out anything!" Volt added, taking off on Magnezone.

"Reno will stay here and do whatever is needed!" Dorme left as well.

"Who's Reno?" The green haired boy asked. "Wait, you mean me? Don't leave me with the boss when he's angry!"

"I don't know where they're going, but I have some things to look into." Giovanni spoke into his cell phone, Maverick, the jet." A small and fast jet descended from the skies, controlled by the Porygon-Z who had been transferred to the satellite after the battle. "Delia, take care of Team Rocket and don't do anything I wouldn't do." Giovanni boarded the jet and took off.

"Where are you going?" Delia's question was left without an answer.

"Can somebody tell me what's going on, why everyone is leaving and where they're going? Where is my daughter? Why isn't anyone telling me anything?" Misty fumed. "Answer me, Fratley!"

"I don't know!" The boy whose name everyone always got wrong, cried out as he backed away.

"I don't know why Giovanni left me in charge all of a sudden, but if I'm the boss for now, I might as well go to the Viridian headquarters and ask some questions," Delia decided. "Misty, I'm making you my second in command, let's go!"

"Right, the main surveillance team is at Viridian, we should be able to get some answers there." Misty agreed, "and they better have answers!"

Laiki sighed and shook her head, "there goes my day off. Team Rocket is sure to end up with a shortage in both human and pokemon doctors when they're through."

xoxox xox xoxox

As Ash approached the dragon temple with Charizard, Pikachu and Persian, he was intercepted by Lance, who rode on his Dragonite. "Were you just planning to charge in?" The dragon master inquired.

"Pretty much," Ash admitted. He could tell by the aura that Lance was not there to stop him, but he would likely want to keep an eye on things.

"I can only imagine how you feel right now," The dragon master spoke quietly. "But because of Scarlett I can understand in a way. I misled most of the trainers that were at the temple. The place has few guards now. No doubt about it you will be refused an audience, so..."

"Less people will get in the way, which means less will be hurt," Ash finished.

"Is anyone else coming?" Lance cautiously asked.

"No," without another word Ash headed towards the temple and landed in front of it. He didn't recall any of the pokemon, Pikachu never really went into his pokeball, Charizard didn't technically have an official trainer and Persian was Giovanni's pokemon.

Upon approaching the temple they found two people already waiting there. "Took you long enough," Comet greeted.

"Comet, Pixel, what are you two doing here?" Ash asked in surprise. "Team Rocket wasn't supposed to be involved!"

"It's not," Pixel replied and Ash noted that neither of them was wearing a uniform.

"This is, shall we say... family business," Comet added.

"We were waiting for you and I see you added one more to the party," Pixel observed.

"Ready to go in?" Comet asked.

"Let's do this," Ash agreed, he didn't even bother asking how they got there first, they were Rockets, they had their ways, even if they weren't there as Rockets today. The four of them proceeded inside, along with the three pokemon, though Lance recalled Dragonite for the moment.

Most of the temple was clear, but it was only a matter of time before a confrontation occurred. They approached a large hall with marble statues of several dragon type pokemon. At the end of the hall there were double doors adorned with gold that led to the inner chamber. "This is as far as we can go without facing any guards." Lance warned as he entered a number into the keypad next to the door and slid in a card. The doors did not open. "I guess that shouldn't surprise me."

"Not a problem," Pixel stepped forward. "Prism, do you read me?" The Porygon-Z replied from the satellite though only Pixel heard her. "Just barely... Okay, time to do some hacking."

"I thought that Team Rocket wasn't going to be so directly involved," Lance observed.

"It's not," Comet assured. "We're just borrowing some equipment, but the boss didn't give us any orders."

"Then how is it that you're here?" Ash inquired.

"Prism overheard a certain conversation and told Pixel about it," Comet explained. "No one else knows, no one whose only reason to be here might be Team Rocket, we have stronger reasons to be here."

Despite his earlier arguments and the logic about not involving Team Rocket, Ash didn't feel uneasy about their presence. "That's true, if your reasons to be here for yourselves are stronger than your reasons to be here for Team Rocket, then your energy won't link back to it in the same way," Ash mused aloud.

Lance knew there must be an explanation for all that, but this wasn't the time to ask for additional clarifications. He got the basics and knew enough to decide to take Ash's side. He was conflicted because he knew the elders meant to do what was best for the world, but when he thought of his own daughter in Ashimi's shoes, he couldn't justify their actions.

The doors opened and behind them waited two guards in a platform in the middle of the chamber, where the stairs were concealed, surrounded by water. Two Kingdras were swimming in the water, but the real challenge would be the guards and their pokemon. They were dressed in dragon-like armor, warriors as much as their pokemon were. Yet two guards couldn't be all there was, surely there were more hiding in the shadows.

"Meteor," Comet released his Absol from his pokeball. "How many?" The pokemon sniffed the air and signaled a reply. "Really?" Comet grinned, "only seven?"

Seeing as it was useless to remain hidden, the armored dragon trainers stepped out from behind the dragon statues that adorned the elegant temple. One of the guards next to the platform in the middle of the room stepped forward. His armor was dark red, rather than dark blue and it had golden details. It was impossible to tell what he really looked like under the dragon shaped helmet. "Dragon master Lance, this is your last chance to join us."

"I refuse," Lance replied without hesitating. His family could only keep the others busy for so long in a wild Zangoose chase that would lead to nothing. "The ends don't justify the means. You can't hope to do the world a favor by sacrificing and innocent life. Do you not understand? If you wanted Team Rocket to be purified, why fill it with bitter sadness?"

"The elders miscalculated," the leader of the dragon warriors admitted. "They thought Ash could save her and when they realized he couldn't, they hope he would do what was best and never know the truth." He turned his attention from Lance to Ash. "If you must be angry, hold a grudge against the us and not against the world, we will respond accordingly."

"I've had enough of this!" Ash shouted. "You think you're noble sacrificing yourself for the sake of the world? I'm not the boss of Team Rocket, I'm not the future king. The one who wanted to turn Team Rocket into a prosperous kingdom was Ashimi. My father will have his revenge and even if it is unfair, I don't think I will be able to bring myself to stop him!"

"But the aura-" the dragon warrior leader began to argue and was cut off.

"You know nothing of the aura!" Ash formed a ball of energy in his palm and shot it. That was all that was needed for the battle to begin. 

The two Kingdra emerged from the water and each dragon warrior released their own companions, Haxorus, Garchomp, Flygon, Hydreigon, Goodra, Tyrantrum and Dragalge. Haxorus' materialized in the path on Ash's attack and deflected it. The pokemon looked very strong and appeared to be wearing some kind of metal cape on his back.

"Peachy, Pyro, show no mercy!" Pixel released her Pikachu and Charizard from their pokeballs. 

"Meteor, Shenlong, let's win this!" Comet already had his Absol out, he called out Gyarados as well.

"Dragonite!" Lance's strongest pokemon reappeared once again out of her pokeball and ready for action.

"Pikachu, thunder!" Ash called out.

"You too, Peachy!" Pixel sent her Pikachu to join in as well. They were a very powerful pair, but the Kingdra resisted their initial attack.

The dragon warriors didn't need to give their pokemon directions, they charged into the battle with their companions already knowing what to do. Comet caught the spear before it could strike him, holding it as the dragon warrior pulled it back. "Meteor, perish song!" The Absol began to sing a solemn tune that was hypnotizing. Comet let go of the spear and dodged as Flygon swooped by and started a sand attack. Though the temple looked clean, sand began to emerge out of the hallow statues, floating towards Flygon, and surrounding him in a tornado that spread all across the room.

Pixel's shield of magnetic light could be seen and another of the dragon warriors made it her target. Her Garchamp rushed ahead, claws outstretched, he was met with a powerful fire blast point blank. Pyro batted his wings to blow the sandstorm away while he breathed fire and with help from Ash's Charizard the battle field once again became clear of that obstacle. Peachy dashed in from the side and focused her energy on Garchomp, it seemed to have no immediate effect, but it would in time. "Peachy, watch out!" The dragon warrior had realized what was going on and attempted to defend her pokemon. Peachy tried the lightning laser technique on her, but her dragon-like armor prevented it from being effective.

A volt tackle from Ash's Pikachu halted the warrior's advance, 'I don't like it when you do that,' he complained about the technique.

'There's no need for mercy, these people want our boy's trainer dead,' Peachy reminded. 'Not even Ash is holding back.

Pikachu glared at the battle and clenched his paws. 'This once... for Ashimi...' The two electric mice charged in together and dodged Garchomp. 

The Kingdra twins targeted them with hydro pumps, but the electric duo was faster. They dodged the hits and attacked them with volt tackle and thunder, close enough so that the Kingdras couldn't help it but to succumb to their power. 'Garchomp won't see it coming now!' Peachy focused her energy along with Pikachu. 

This was a technique he would rather not use, but this was a desperate time. 'Lightning laser!' The thin but deadly lines of light hit Garchomp's heart from opposite directions and the pokemon fell, twisting and turning on the floor in pain. 'That should be enough,' Pikachu decided.

'I know, I know, no overkill,' Peachy rolled her eyes, 'I mean no unnecessary kills,' she corrected. 'I better get a big cake after this!' Gluttonous as ever, the thought of a celebratory meal was always a good motivation to battle harder.

Garchomp's partner was dodging all of Pixel's electric charges and her spear was starting to overload the shield. She was sure one more simultaneous hit from her spear and Garchomp's claws would shatter the cyborg's shield. Just as she was certain her opponent would be defeated, she heard her pokemon cry out in pain and fall. "Garchomp!"

"You'd best leave the battle field if you care about your pokemon," Pixel warned. 'Prism,' she called out in a message. 'Recharge me... Prism? I just lost my last bit of signal in here. Oh well, I'll have to make what I have last.' 

The cyborg thought that she was rid of one dragon warrior at least, but Garchomp soon went back on his unsteady feet and his trainer pointed her spear at Pixel. "This is our last stand, three have left us, but the remaining seven dragon warriors will stay loyal to the elders!" She charged in, shattering the energy shield and readying her spear for the kill. Pyro had flown to chase after Flygon, but broke away from the battle and released his fire upon Garchomp's trainer to defend his own. She screamed, trapped in the armor that had suddenly become very hot, but realized it wasn't as hot as it should be if it had been a direct hit. Garchomp had jumped in front of her to shield her from the blast. "Garchomp!" She gripped her spear as tears flowed from her eyes for her fallen comrade. Determined, she charged recklessly, right at the fire pokemon, who retaliated swiftly, sending her flying across the battle field.

Flygon gave chase to Pyro and attacked with dragon claw, but was blasted out of the way just in time by a hyper beam from Shenlong. Pixel glanced at Comet with a smile then focused her mechanical sensors on the dragon warrior woman, scanning for vital signs. "She's alive, just knocked out, at least she landed out of the way of the battle, but it's over for Garchomp, she should have taken the warning... No, she was ready to sacrifice both of them."

Comet looked towards Meteor, who was still using his power to weaken the consciousness of all those who heard his song. His own pokemon were trained to resist it, as were Pixel's. His earpiece and Pixel's integrated cyborg components would protect them and he trusted Ash' was strong enough with the aura. Surely someone like Lance would be unaffected as well, but even if the dragon warriors and their pokemon tried to resist the enchantment, their insecurities and doubts would be their downfall. He punched a dragon warrior in the face, he had been Hydreigon's trainer and now that he was out cold, Comet could focus on Hydreigon. "Keep at it, Meteor!" Making sure no one got too close to the dark pokemon, he rushed into the fight again.

Flygon took to the air, only to be batted down again by an iron tail from Ash's Charizard. He landed, right next to Persian, who was clawing at Dragalge and badly poisoned. Charizard landed next to them and blasted Dragalge away with his fire. 'Finish him off, I'll take care of her!'

'I don't want anyone's seconds!' Giovanni's Persian protested, though he did knock out Flygon with night slash.

The temple suddenly shook violently once, twice, three times. The ceiling began to cave in, forcing the combatants to dodge falling debris and exit the structure via the opening on the ceiling. 'That's enough Prism, you don't need to go all out with the laser just because we lost contact,' Pixel communicated. 'Another blast like that will be too much, we can't have the lower levels collapse, we need answers from the people hiding there. Play support instead.'

'Affirmative!'Prism chirped in relief, she was in the atmosphere, thus only Pixel heard her, via their wireless communication.

'You'll have to tell me how you talked him into that later,' Pixel grinned. Prism's laser wasn't that strong, she recognized this weapon as being Giovanni's personal defense satellite, controlled by Maverick, whom Prism seemed to like on some days and dislike on others. Prism did however have support capabilities in her satellite and soon put them to good use.

A bright light shone upon Persian, he left as if the gravity around him was lighter and the air heavier. The light faded and he felt much better, his poisoning was gone. He hissed at the skies where he saw an odd star, threw his head back in a prideful gesture and ran off to find another target, since Charizard had stolen his.

Four of the dragon warriors had surrounded Ash since the beginning of the fight, all of them wearing blue armor, as the one in red went after Lance. He had no time to command his pokemon as he dodged their spears, focusing on the aura to predict their movements. He finally saw an opportunity and cut the end of one of the spears with his aura blade, taking the opening to jump out of the middle of the circle they had formed around him. His breaths were heavy and the weight of the situation was taking its toll, but Ash refused to give up. 

His blade turned to a ball of energy which charged at the four warriors, breaking apart and crashing against them. One held his spear in front of him and it was broken by the force of the attack, the defensive stance proven insufficient, he was thrown several feet back. Another rolled out of the way, dropping her spear in the process as debris fell from the collapsing ceiling. Now only one of the four was armed, but the others, though tired, were not out of the battle yet.

They dodge the falling pieces of the ceiling and jumped to escape from the collapsing structure, some climbing on their own and others holding on to their pokemon. When the dust settled, they jumped down from what was left of the ruined walls and resumed their fight. Ash made his blade of aura larger and charged at the dragon warrior who was still armed. The other three came at him from all direction. He broke the spear of his opponent, but the others were too close. He ducked out of the way of a punch, jumped to dodge two simultaneous kicks and with the long blade of energy outstretched, her spun to hit all four of the warriors that surrounded him.

The aura cut through their armor as if it was butter, but only lightly burned their flesh as it exploded into bolts of electricity on contact until the blade was no more. The warriors were tossed aside, static still clinging to their forms, alive, but knocked out. Breathing heavily, Ash looked at Comet and Pixel, shaking his head. "Garchomp is dead," he frowned at her, then looked at Comet with the same expression. "Did you see where you threw that guy you knocked out?"

"No," Comet admitted, "I was busy beating up that Hydreigon," he pointed to the unconscious pokemon. "Oh wait, there he is," he pointed, spotting the dragon warrior.

"He's alive," Ash sighed. He wondered if the dragon warriors were just being used and felt bad for them. He knew his friends were trying to do this with as few casualties as possible, for his sake, but it was still hard to think they were storming the dragon temple.

"I was more concerned about Hydreigon biting my head off, but yeah, I was careful" Comet replied.

"And I wasn't the one who ordered the satellite canon to be shot," Pixel added. "Prism went and convinced Maverick all on her own. Charmed him or something." Prism protested at what she perceived as teasing.

"I know, I'm just stressed. We need to," Ash's words were interrupted by Tyrantrum attempting to eat him. 

"Focus on the battle?" Comet completed for him.

Ash jumped back, "yeah, that!" He dodged Tyrantrum's tail as it swung towards him and tried to call out his blade of aura again, but he put too much power into his last attack and it wouldn't respond. Yet he felt as if he could do more than that. 'The perish song!' He realized. It's sweet melody lulled the targets into thinking that they wanted nothing more but to escape their present. It prayed on their insecurities and had significantly weaken the dragon warriors and their pokemon, for they must have known about the truth of the elders' actions and even if they chose to be loyal, they might still feel bad about it. But why did it affect him too? He thought the aura would protect him...

"Ash? Ash!" Pixel called out in alarm.

"Hey you overgrown lizard, back off!" Comet jumped on the pokemon's tail, running up her back until he reached her head. "The twerp is not a meal!" He jumped and kicked the center of the pokemon's skull and she lost consciousness.

Ash chuckled, "you've been hanging out with Jessie and James too much lately," he joked.

"Now I know what to call you when you space out," Comet countered. Shenlong came up next to him after having finished his business with Goodra. The other pokemon were all done with their battles as well. Meteor ceased his song since every enemy was knocked out, or not found in the case of Haxorus and the red armored dragon warrior. 

Ash didn't really want to address it, but he couldn't ignore it. "It was the perish song, I shouldn't be affected by it, but I was because I don't know what's right anymore. I want revenge so badly, but I know that won't solve much, that's not the way of the aura. I... I just want my daughter to be safe."

"We'll find some answers here..." Pixel voiced quietly.

"That's true," Ash breathe, "but they might not be good. I'm sorry Zero was targeted too, his data..."

"Will be fine," Pixel interjected. "I didn't think I could become a cyborg years ago and here I am, technology will get better and he'll be restored." Ash didn't reply, it wasn't really a matter of technology anymore.

"That's right, Zero will be okay and Ashimi will be saved, if you don't think it's possible you can't make it possible," Comet voiced.

"Right, I can't let despair get to me," Ash nodded. There was one thing that he still didn't understand... "Where did Lance go?" They all looked around, but the dragon master was nowhere to be seen and Ash was too tired to extend his senses to a distance beyond his immediate surroundings.

xoxox xox xoxox

When the ceiling collapsed Haxorus extended the metal on his back to reveal a pair of mechanical wings, that he used to take off from the area, carrying his trainer with him. Lance had gone in pursuit, riding on Dragonite. Haxorus landed in the mountains near mount silver and the red armored dragon warrior got off. Dragonite landed in a peak nearby and Lance got off as well. "What do you hope to accomplish with all this, Abeloth?" The champion demanded.

The dragon warrior removed his helmet, casting it aside, his yellow eyes glaring coldly at Lance. His dark hair was cut short, contrasting with the bright red of Lance's hair. "You were supposed to be our leader, you were supposed to be an example. But you ran off with that outsider, that traitor who left the dragon clan, and yet the elders still welcomed you and even made your daughter one of us. Where are they now? Serving as part of a distraction so you can attack our elders. Traitors, all of you!"

"Do you really think everyone was tricked?!" Lance argued back. "The elders have made many mistakes, they have grown out of touch with reality and many of our clan finally had enough!"

"So they're letting Ash decide? He should pass judgment on our people?" Abeloth shouted in indignation.

"He's the chosen one by the legendaries..." Lance reminded.

"That doesn't mean anything! He is just as selfish as everyone else, otherwise he would have agreed with the elders!" Abeloth continued to argue. 

"Ashimi is innocent in all of this, a true dragon master can't stand by and let an innocent person be sacrificed," Lance firmly replied.

"I see there's no way we can understand each other," Abeloth concluded. He separated his double spear into two, forming two weapons of equal length out of it, and he tossed one half to Lance. "The one who should be wearing the red armor is you, but you didn't even look surprised when you found me at the temple, as if you didn't care. You dishonor your heritage, you think you're doing the right thing by saving that girl and sacrificing many?"

"There has to be a better way, but you were right about one thing, there really is no way we can understand each other," Lance stood defensively, holding the spear at the ready. "Especially if you insist on claiming you're sinless after abandoning your closest companion!"

"That Dragonite was weak, Haxorus is strong, strong enough to defeat your Dragonite! The victor will be the one who's right!" Abeloth charged at Lance. At the same time Haxorus extended his mechanical wings and hurried towards Dragonite. The two dragons let out fierce battle cries as Abeloth's spear collided with Lance's. The men struggled against each other until their weapons broke contact, but not for long. They jumped from one mountain peak to another, running close to the edge, their spears often colliding, attacking and blocking. 

The two dragons were in the air, their trainers far too busy to guide them, the beasts were left to their own devices, to apply what they had learned. Dragonite attacked with hurricane, but Haxorus blocked with his metal wings, then faced the currents, propelling himself forward with his powerful mechanical enhancements. He crashed into Dragonite, dragging her down towards the ground with ever increasing speed. Dragonite struggled to get free before the deadly giga impact hit, just barely escaping with a thunder wave at the last second. 

Albeit the force of the crash was greatly reduced, Dragonite still hit the ground with a cloud of dust picking up around her. She got up as fast as she could, knowing that her rival would be relentless. The force of a dragon pulse slowed her down and she just barely dodged Haxorus' claws. Dragonite knew that she couldn't compete in the air, Haxorus' metal wings were too powerful and no matter how fast she tried to move her own, she couldn't match his speed. She couldn't stay on the ground either, she was an easy target to be hit from the air, so she gained altitude.

Determined not to give up, Dragonite attacked with Aqua Tail, as Haxorus came closer to slash at her. She managed to land the attack, and Haxorus was forced to back away. He shot a hyper beam, which Dragonite dodged. She was going to take the opportunity after the failed attack to fight back with a hyper beam of her own, but she was assaulted by a multitude of sharp knives that were shot from Haxorus' wings and couldn't fight back. Dragonite felt her senses blur, realizing the knives were poisoned. She struggled to fight back, but her dragon rush missed the target because of her numb senses and Haxorus countered with outrage.

Dragonite fell, she breathed heavily, holding on to her consciousness with all she had. "Dragonite!" Lance's voice made her eyes snap open and she weakly lifted her head to look at him. She cried out in warning, causing him to turn at the last second to defend himself from Adeloth's attack. She couldn't be a distraction to him, his worries for her would cost him his life. She tried to push herself up, but Haxorus wouldn't allow it. He shot a focus blast which badly injured her right wing, and partially damaged her left. She cried out in pain, knowing that she would be stuck on the ground for the rest of the battle that she could only hope wasn't her last.

Lance's Dragonite could hear the odd sound of Haxorus' wings above her. She turned on her side and looked up in time to see him charge another hyper beam. This was it, he was preparing to finish her off, like his trainer no doubt told him to. The poison continued to circulate through her body, weakening her along with her injuries. Even then she wouldn't give up. From the corner of her eyes, in that split second she could see Lance struggling to get away from Adeloth, trying his best to run to her. His cape was ripped to shreds and there was blood pouring out from a wound on his side, next to the rips. A little higher and to the side and the enemy's spear would have pierced his heart. 

The brightness of the hyper beam overtook her senses, but other than the hotness of the attack, Dragonite felt no pain. Her wings throbbed and her whole body ached, but she had not been slain, that last attack had been redirected by a brightness that could have only been another hyper beam. Another Dragonite landed beside her. She gasped in recognition, he had been Adeloth's pokemon once, though he traded him in search of a stronger partner and ended up with an enhanced Haxorus, that no doubt cost him more than the price for which he sold his Dragonite. He somehow ended up with Lance later on, the same Dragonite no doubt, though he was short one antennae.

Haxorus roared in anger at the newcomer that interrupted him, he flapped his wings again, knives shooting out of them at the two Dragonites. They tried to stop the projectiles with hurricane, as they shot in all directions and were nearly impossible to dodge. Alone neither could have done it, but together the knives fell short of hitting their target. The female noticed that the newcomer was carrying something in his front paws, which he gave her before quickly stepping forward as if to create a distraction. She knew what that liquid was, a rare elixir developed by Team Rocket, which they didn't share with just about anyone. Lance had obtained one, which he entrusted to Evazan, alias Arrow. 

Lance's Dragonite didn't want to use all the elixir for herself, it was rare, even within Team Rocket, but she knew she needed to drink a portion at least, so she did. She quickly rushed forward with a hyper beam and gave the other Dragonite the remainder of the elixir. He had gotten hurt keeping Haxorus busy. He didn't want to drink the elixir, so she had to practically shove it at him. By then Haxorus had recovered and the two Dragonites had to dodge left and right out of the way of his focus blast. Haxorus positioned his wings to shoot poisoned knives again, as Lance's Dragonite was no longer poisoned thanks to the elixir, but nothing happened, he was too wasteful with his ammunition and had run out. 

The Dragonite with one antennae was shocked that the other of his kind could recover so much of her strength with only a portion of the elixir. He fought Haxorus for less time and took just as much elixir, but wasn't as refreshed as her. Lance's Dragonite was truly on a class of her own, a class that he thought he could never reach. He tried to focus as she told him they would have to work together. Two against one wasn't fair, but she didn't care at the moment, she was more worried about Lance. Haxorus went on the attack with hyper beam, but couldn't keep up with trying to hit the two targets at once. With an angry roar, Haxorus caused an earthquake that shook even the duel happening in the peaks nearby. To his surprise, both Dragonites took to the air in response.

The male Dragonite noticed then that Lance's Dragonite wasn't completely healed after all. Her right wing was still hurt, albeit useable, but painful. He realized that it wasn't that the elixir was especially effective for her, but she was simply more determined to make the best of the situation. She had already been trying to get up when he arrived, even if all logic dictated that she was about to die. There was no way she would abandon her trainer, she fought for Lance and that made her stronger. It was a bond that he had never known. 

Haxorus was getting angrier, losing his concentration. He attacked with outrage, switching his targets because when he attacked one, the other would attack him, he was getting tired though. Lance's Dragonite nodded at her ally, they needed to finish this quickly, she wanted to check on Lance. Enraged, Haxorus shot one hyper beam after another, not taking the time to aim and letting his anger get the best of him due to his poor training. The two Dragonites took the opportunity and aimed from opposite sides with hyper beams of their own. The dual attacks were a direct hit that finally sent Haxorus crashing to the ground, fainted. Lance's Dragonite landed, unable to go on with her injured wing. The other Dragonite helped her up, so they could fly towards Lance.

The two Dragonites arrived on time to see the end of the duel. Lance demonstrated his superior skill and knocked Abeloth's spear out of his hands. Exhausted, the red armored warrior's legs gave out and he could no longer stay on his feet. His breaths were heavy and angry, yellow eyes glaring with loathing. It only got worse when he saw the two Dragonites behind Lance. "You!" He snapped at the Dragonite who had been his pokemon. "I trained you from the start, I made you evolved, and this is how you repay me? You were always weak, no matter how hard I tried to make you strong, but now you are a traitor!"

"That's enough," Lance reprimanded. "You betrayed him, you abandoned him when you should have been supportive and caring. You can never understand the bond between a true dragon master and pokemon. You've lost, admit defeat and never return to the dragon clan!"

"Very well..." Abeloth turned around, and looked at his fainted pokemon down below. It was only a distraction though, he turned again, pulling out a gun that was hidden in his armor and aiming at Lance. A flash of light blinded him momentarily and a sharp pain invaded his senses. His limbs went numb and the gun slipped out of his hand. When his eyes refocused he saw red, an endless sea of red from the hole that the hyper beam had cut clean through his chest. He fell back and died before he even hit the ground.

Lance turned around, startled. He stared with wide eyes at the one who had broken the unspoken golden rule. His own Dragonite turned her head to look at the culprit. She had began to move and was already several steps ahead from where she landed, intending to shield Lance, but she would have been too late and even if she still tried, she knew it. The male Dragonite looked at the ground in shame. Lance gently reached up and placed his hand on the dragon's shoulder. "You are strong, you just needed to find your strength, but this is not the way. Don't fight in hatred, fight to protect those you care about. You are free now, and so you will remain. Find your happiness and know that you're always welcome in my home."

The Dragonite nodded. He was hurt and tired, but it wasn't anything life threatening. He would heal well enough in the wild. He did want to give Lance a ride back though, since Dragonite really needed to give her wings a rest and heal. Lance accepted the offer, recalled his Dragonite into her pokeball to rest and got on the male Dragonite's back.

xoxox xox oxox

Hidden in the rocky terrain, two people witnessed Lance's battle. "I let him go and he ended up coming here. I guess he had unfinished business with the trainer who hurt him," Arrow voiced.

Daala scowled, "I knew it, those were just some random pokemon you caught last minute for the league, your true power lies fighting with a spear by Salamence's side. She hid her power when she fought that Rocket's Gyarados, but she could have won at any moment."

"I was a dragon warrior once, there were ten of us then. Lance's wife was qualified, regardless of what the elders said, but she never joined. Lance was our leader, Scarlett was there as well, one of the ten chosen. Abeloth was always jealous of Lance, as for me, I felt trapped in that life and wanted to go out there and do something that felt like I was making a difference. I put down my spear and picked up a bow, Salamence has been with me through thick and thin, I can't imagine even being alive without her. But even if I care about Salamence more than for my own life, I've never been able to truly connect with any other pokemon in the same way, not even close," Arrow confessed. "I try to help them in the wild and I've even caught many pokemon and trained them for some time, but I always let them go. I guess it was simply meant to be this way, just Salamence and me, doing what we can to help the world."

"Well, now that you've seen this, you can truly put your past behind. I know you were torn between your loyalty to the elders and to Lance. Now we both know the truth," Daala fell silent, lost in thought.

Arrow nodded, "the whole truth, revealed by the elders themselves. I guess they thought they could convince me to join their side. What do you think?"

"I'll have to side with the elders on this one. Although, now that I know what happened at the Indigo League really wasn't Ashimi's doing, even if I'm still upset about it, I feel that I can accept her apology," Daala admitted.

Arrow sighed, "I can see both sides of the argument and that's why I couldn't bring myself to join either. So I just..."

"Let things happen on their own, but you still had to keep an eye on your idol," Daala finished for him. "Either way, that evil inside Ashimi is, ironically, Team Rocket's enemy too, even if it was born from it. They'll try to save her and if they can't do it, I doubt anyone can. As much as it pains me, Team Rocket is the most powerful force in the world. I still don't like the idea of having anyone rule over people, sometimes I think it's best for people to just rule themselves, albeit I see how that can get out of hand too. As things stand now, my priority is the evil not running wild..."

"You want to sacrifice her..." Arrow concluded. "I won't stop you, I don't disagree with your logic to put the majority first, but I can't go against Lance or Ash or... or even Giovanni himself if he's truly trying to save his granddaughter as his granddaughter, rather than just his heir. We don't know that, there's no way to know, but I know Ash must be sincere, because Lance trusts him and I trust Lance. I'm still on the fence, if there's a way for both sides to win, I'll pick that, but for now... I guess I'll be busy figuring it out." Arrow called Salamence out of her pokeball and climbed on her back. She was once again his only pokemon, the others had been set free to live in the wild.

Daala stood in thought until he disappeared in the distance and finally realized that standing there thinking wouldn't bring her the answer she so desperately wanted. She couldn't change Arrow's mind and if they met in opposite sides of the battlefield he would be her enemy and a formidable opponent. The sooner she came to terms with that the better. She called out Braviary, regretting the fact that the only pokemon who could carry her out of the remote mountains was that one, yet she knew she could never bring herself to part with him.

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 41: Aura

Dragonite landed in the dragon temple and Lance jumped off his back. He thanked him for the ride and Dragonite left, he had a lot of things to think about and taking a break away from it all in the wild would do him good. "We were just about to go out looking for you," Ash greeted. He noticed the wound and immediately went to have a closer look. "You're hurt!"

"It's nothing serious," Lance insisted. "See? The bleeding has almost stopped. I can take care of it later, for now, let's proceed." Lance began down the stairs in the center of the ruined chamber before anyone could stop him. The stairs led to a long underground hallway with a more antique style to it, more dragon statues primarily from Dragonite's evolutionary line, and torches to light the way. 

Ash, Lance, Comet, Pixel and the pokemon arrived at another set of doors that were carved with pictures of dragon type pokemon and adorned with golden details, they looked to be very old. Lance pushed the doors open and went inside. The next room was dimly lit with torches of blue fire and it contained seven throne-like seats arranged in a semi-circle. Only one of the seats was currently occupied, by a man with a long white beard, an elderly man and woman stood, looking very uneasy as they held ancient texts. "So you've come," the man in the throne spoke. 

"I came for answers," Ash stepped forward. "I want to know how to save my daughter."

The leader of the elders who sat on the throne knew that Ash would not relent. "No matter the consequences..."

"If you had someone you cared about you would understand," Ash argued back, before the old man could voice any further critiques.

The elderly man and woman, also part of the council, stepped aside and remained silent, watching the exchange. The leader shook his head, "that is why such attachments are not good. Still, I will tell you all, it makes no difference. The evil of Team Rocket is trapped in your daughter, it will consume her soul if it is not vanquished. The sacrifice of her life will in turn kill the being that resides with her. It does not matter if you kill me as well. Her vessel is its vessel, the evil had become a living creature that must be slain. To save her soul, you must end her life, there is no other way."

"That's a lie!" Ash snapped. "Those texts you hold," he turned his attention to the other two elders. "Are they where you got this information? I want to see them." Ash didn't wait for them to react and snatched the ancient tattered books, looking through them feverishly.

"Where are the others?" Lance inquired in the moment of silence.

"They fled the temple," the leader of the council replied. "Though the choice was unanimous, after they realized what was happening, your betrayal, they left."

A long silence overtook the room, which lasted for a long time. Only the sounds of old yellowed paper being handled could be heard in the deafening quiet. "There is a way," Ash finally spoke. "A being of greater power than the host can remove the evil and carry it in her place, though both the new host and the evil creature would have to be willing."

"The evil would still need to be defeated and giving it a more powerful vessel would only make that harder," the elder cautioned. "That is if it even agrees. It will not go into a vessel it thinks it cannot control. It might not agree to go with you."

"I'll trick it, I'll force it, I'll do something..." Ash concluded. A noise was heard from outside and a familiar presence entered the range of Ash's senses. He considered hurrying out, but instead waited until the presence arrived. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you've found anything," Giovanni replied. He was a lone, a fact which surprised everyone. "For what it's worth, I'm not currently the leader of Team Rocket."

"The executives?" Ash assumed.

"I was in a hurry and left your mother in charge," Giovanni was a bit worried now. Last time he took the afternoon off and left Delia in charge she added a baking training course for field agents. Electro never got over the shock of having failed a field agent training, as he prided himself on his top scores. Though if Misty was with her, and still fuming, maybe this time he should worry about a high count of Rocket agent casualties by drowning. 

"Oh... Well I found the answer, so I'll be going now," Ash began to walk away, giving his friends a quick glance that requested their silence. 

He didn't get far though, as Giovanni blocked his path. "What did you find?"

Ash knew he wouldn't escape without answering, so he stopped going in circles and did. "I can take Ashimi's place, in theory, I'll find a way to make it work."

"There might be a better way than that," Giovanni eyed the three elders with fury. "I'm sure I can convince them to speak." Lance looked as if he was debating if he wanted to protest or not, but before he could decide, Giovanni paused as he received a call. It had to be an emergency, Maverick wouldn't allow any other calls to reach his cell phone at the moment if it wasn't. Giovanni answered the phone to hear surprising news. "Take her to Viridian, maximum security, I'm on my way."

"What's going on?" Ash asked suspiciously, there was a strange sort of uneasiness in his father.

"Ashimi has been found," Giovanni revealed. 

Ash's eyes widened, "you mean she was missing?" He didn't question it further before rushing out on his way to Viridian.

"We'll go on the jet," Giovanni called out to Ash, who had rushed up the stairs with Charizard and Pikachu. Persian remained, glad to be back with his trainer, he was very tired and could use a bubble bath and some gourmet treats. Giovanni was about to say something more, but then he recalled he wasn't supposed to be in charge of Team Rocket for the time being, so he left.

Before anything more was decided, the elder leader pulled out a small bottle from his robes, the other two followed, drinking the liquid that was contained within. Comet and Pixel, who had been standing next to the stairs, and Lance who was closer to the middle of the room, tried to stop them, but it was too late. The three elders fell dead, as if they had agreed to escape the terrible fate that they were sure they would suffer in the most extreme way.

xoxox xox xoxox

Earlier, at the Viridian Rocket headquarters. "Looks like another dot on the radar," Jessie sighed. "Butch and Cassidy better be taking care of the pokemon, I can't believe they of all people were assigned to watch the daycare while we're here," she complained.

" It's the only way we can be close to the real action. What if something important happens and we can't do anything about it because we're stuck at the daycare? We can't leave it closed for too long, it's an important Rocket trading post," James reminded. "Besides, Meowth is there to make sure everything's okay."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Jessie grumbled. They were not aware of Ashimi's disappearance and assumed she, Jonathan and the others were still safe at Pallet Town. "The machines are way too sensitive," Jessie complained as she walked out of the main surveillance center, towards the hanger area. "Every time some Abra teleports we have to investigate. We probably won't find anything this time either. Let's just check it out so we can come back and clock out."

"Sleep," James smiled at the thought. His caffeine rush had run out and he could certainly use a good rest. 

xoxox xox xoxox

After Legend had teleported Ashimi away, she reappeared in New Island. There was no one there, nothing but old ruins. She could feel Legend trying to eat away at her consciousness. She wasn't going without a fight, she would weaken it as much as she could. She was there for some time, until none other than Sabrina herself teleported in front of her. "Sabrina!" Ashimi gasped in surprise.

"Your wish has almost been granted, with the evil energy that came from Team Rocket trapped within you, it will become a prosperous kingdom." Sabrina removed her hood, for the first time in a long time, willingly revealing her face. She had not visibly aged, but there was a glow in her eyes that spoke of great power. She was clearly not someone to cross, her intimidating presence made that obvious.

"Why did you do all this?" Ashimi shouted. "If you haven't broken the seal, then this wouldn't have happened!"

"I am not like those hypocrites," Sabrina stepped close to Ashimi, looking into her eyes. "Can you make a blade of aura?"

Ashimi shook her head. "I don't have enough control to make a blade, but I can make a small orb," she replied before she could stop herself. "It doesn't matter, I'll still fight back!"

"It might not be enough, but Ash will certainly finish the job. I think I've angered him enough for him to play his part," Sabrina decided.

Ashimi looked at the psychic with confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I will take the evil from you. Once I am its vessel, you must kill it, kill me. If you cannot, it doesn't matter, your father will," Sabrina explained. "this way your wish comes true, the evil will be defeated. Team Rocket will still have its faults, but they will be easier to deal with. Do not let it become so dark again."

Ashimi stared at Sabrina for a long moment. "You're doing this for the good of the world... This was part of your plan all along. Is there no other way? Do you really have to die?"

Sabrina laughed, though there was surprisingly no bitterness in her voice. "You truly are like your father." That was all the answer she gave before moving on. "Concentrate now, you must channel the evil to me."

"I.. I can't.." Ashimi muttered unsure.

"Again, it doesn't matter... I'll just have to force it out." At Sabrina's command, Ashimi found herself unable to move. 

Ashimi's whole body ached as she felt that she was being ripped apart, though she had no physical injuries. She screamed, but her voice was too far from anyone to be heard. Sabrina's power surrounded her and she felt a terrifying evil leave her. She sensed it as she never had before, as it truly was. It felt as if the process was endless, the energy moving from her to Sabrina. An eternity passed before the pain stopped, but Ashimi still felt the pull of Sabrina's energy.

"It is done..." Sabrina tried to let go of Ashimi's energy, she tried to entrap the evil within herself, but it struggled strongly against her psychic grip, then it slipped away. She had the being within her body, but it was not imprisoned. "Why..?" How could her power fail her? 

'You fool!' Legend growled fiercely. 'Do you believe psychic energy can affect me? I am beyond such elements!' 

Sabrina realized her mistake too late. She trusted that her power was stronger than the aura, and in a practical sense it could be, yet for the delicate matters from within, only the gentle influence of the aura could suffice. It was a different kind of power, a power that did not force things to happen, but gently prodded them to take a certain course. Sabrina tried hard to break the link with Ashimi, but she couldn't. A ghostly version of Ashimi began to emerge from her body, her spirit was being pulled out of the vessel.

Several cries pierced the air as Ashimi's pokemon landed. They rushed to her, but were stopped by a psychic shield unwillingly generated by Sabrina. It hurt to get close, but they pounded on it, trying to break through. Not long after, Jonathan, Dorme and Volt arrived. They too tried to break through the shield to reach Ashimi, calling out all their pokemon at once to help in the arduous task. 

After several desperate moments, Sabrina pulled down the shield and everyone rushed to Ashimi, who was surrounded by a strange kind of energy. "Don't go near her!" Sabrina called out in warning. She forced her telekinesis to respond and tried to pull them back. Jonathan, Dorme, Volt and the pokemon, they were struggling so strongly, wanting so desperately to reach Ashimi, and Sabrina was exhausted from the ordeal. She couldn't summon enough of her power to hold them all back. 

Lightning, Chari, Clefable, Furball, Crobat, Wartortle and Nidorino, who had Zero's data crystal, slipped out of Sabrina's psychic grip and reached Ashimi. As soon as they touched the ghostly glow around her, they two became as specters, leaving their bodies behind and fading away. Sabrina understood now that she severely underestimated her opponent, or perhaps more so she overestimated herself. Yet she would not give up, she would find a way to entrap the evil and vanquish it. She couldn't let it take control of her power, she needed to leave, go back to her secret home where she could concentrate without interference, where she was at peace, where she was at her strongest. Sabrina teleported away, her destination unknown to anyone but her.

When Sabrina disappeared, Jonathan, Dorme, Volt and their pokemon were freed from the psychic energy that held them back. They stared at their fallen friends unsure of how to help them. The energy around them was fading and the ghosts had all vanished. Jonathan stepped forward cautiously. "I think, whatever knocked them out stopped," he hurried forward and tried to wake Ashimi. "Ashy? Ashy wake up?" 

"Is she? Are they?" Dorme gasped.

"She has a pulse, but it's very weak," Jonathan answered. "What about the pokemon?"

Dorme and Volt quickly checked for vital signs. "They're alive, barely," Volt replied.

xoxox xox xoxox

In the air, near New Island, "got it, we're almost there," James ended the call. Jessie had insisted on driving the helicopter, she rarely let him drive regardless of if they were traveling by land air or sea. He didn't mind too much though, as there were few close calls to be had in the open skies. "The priority of the alert we're investigating has been upgraded. Reinforcements are on their way. They want us to let them know right away if it's another false alarm so they can turn back."

"You mean another bunch of Abras and Kadabras having a wild party?" Jessie huffed. She had gotten excited about catching Sabrina too many times to think of this occasion as anything other than a false alarm. Even so, she would investigate just in case there was anything at all to be found. "I'm tired of going back empty handed. This time, if it's just a bunch of psychic pokemon making a ruckus, we're catching them." When the helicopter arrived at New Island, Jessie and James were very surprised at what they found...

xoxox xox xoxox

After Ashimi and the pokemon faded away, they found themselves in a strange place filled with endless swirls of color. Ashimi was surprised to see all her pokemon there and wondered just where they were. She was even more shocked to find Zero. "Chibi?"

"Aniki!" Nidorino rushed to his trainer and Ashimi was surprised to realize she understood him.

Zero hugged his pokemon and looked around in puzzlement, asking the question in all their minds. "It's good to be back and all, but where are we?"

"I don't know," Ashimi replied. "I was with Sabrina and Legend... It felt as if I died..." She looked around in alarm, the last images she recalled before awakening up there flooding her mind. 

"Me too," Lightning admitted and was followed by more agreements from the other pokemon.

"I can understand you all," Ashimi voiced, "I mean, not just understand you because I know you, I can understand your words. Are we all dead?" She wondered in sad fright.

"You're not dead, come this way," a gentle voice called. Ashimi, Zero and the pokemon followed the voice and found a Gardevoir. "I am the keeper of this place, the space in between. I cannot let you go any further, if you move on to the afterlife without your vessels, you will lose your link to them and be unable to return."

"Vessels?" Clefable wondered.

"You mean our bodies?" Chari asked.

"Yes," Gardevoir nodded.

"Then we really are ghosts," Furball concluded.

"More so spirits, since you are not held back by unfinished business, but rather you have been removed from your physical forms," Gardevoir explained. "When living creatures come here before their time, they can enter with their bodies, that will be transformed into energy and be carried within their soul. When that is the case, their appearance changes, they could resemble any living being, except humans, though I'm not sure why no one seems to take that form here. The same thing happens when you pass away, except the vessel is left behind and the memories of the past life become locked deep within your soul. Your case is neither of those. You are here in spirit, without your vessels, but not because your bodies have perished. You are still linked to them, and that is why you reflect their current form. As long as you don't proceed any further, you will not lose that link. If you go beyond this point, the distance will be too great, you will become completely detached from your bodies and they will die." Gardevoir made sure to stress the warning.

"We'll make sure not to do that," Wartortle shuddered.

"Yeah, we'll go back right away," Crobat added.

"As soon as we know which way is back," Lightning nodded.

"Could you give us directions?" Ashimi inquired.

"That is why I'm here, but you need not be in such a rush. You are in no danger of dying as long as you don't go beyond this area. Plus we looked into that world and your vessels are being taken care of, they are in no danger. Before you return, there is someone who wishes to speak with you," Gardevoir explained. "Please, come with me."

Ashimi wondered who would want to talk to her in such a place. The group followed Gardevoir a short distance, though they weren't sure how to measure distance in a place that was an ever changing swirl of colors with no sky, ground or gravity, not even any air. They felt weightless and moved simply by willing themselves to float. They weren't even breathing, though it only felt strange when they stopped to think about it.

Gardevoir took them to a Lucario who was in mega form, though strangely that seemed to be his ordinary appearance, his only form. They thought about Gardevoir's words and realized the mega Lucario could be anyone, a different pokemon, or even a human who had lived in their world before. "I have brought them, like you asked," Gardevoir's soft voice informed. 

"Thank you," the mega Lucario nodded. "I will take care of guiding them." It seemed that he already knew who they all were.

"Very well, I shall leave them in your care," Gardevoir agreed. She turned to Ashimi's group. "Please listen closely to sir Aaron's words." Gardevoir floated away, leaving everyone in shock.

"Sir Aaron?!" Ashimi gasped. "That Sir Aaron, from the stories? The aura master?"

Aaron laughed lightly, "everyone is used to calling me sir Aaron, but there is no kingdom for me to be knighted here. I'm just another soul, though I chose to stay in the afterlife, rather than rejoin the cycle of life, perhaps one day I will."

"Sir Aaron, I have to know, did you meet Lucario?" Ashimi asked. "My father told me the story of the tree of beginnings, did the two of you ever meet again?"

Aaron smiled, "yes, I was reunited with my dear friend, we studied the aura together for several years and mastered a technique to retain our memories at least in part when we reincarnate. After all, the memories of past lives are never lost, only locked away. I sensed something was happening in the world, it looked as if you might end up here sooner than expected. I thought the evil within you would overtake your vessel and expel your spirit. That is why I asked Gardevoir to direct you to me, so that I could help you return before you lost the link with your body and you could continue to fight the evil."

"Things took an unexpected turn when Sabrina trapped the evil in herself. Her soul struggles against it as we speak, but she will not surrender her vessel with ease. Lucario went ahead to the world of the living, hoping to help in the battle. Although, he knew that the form he might take was unpredictable, as was the place where he would appear. His past memories have not manifested yet, so I cannot recognize his aura at the moment. I could find him if I narrowed it down, but there are simply too many places to look and too many energies to sense as things stand now. If his memories awaken though, at least in part, his aura might resonate with mine and he would be easier to find," Aaron explained.

The aura master made an offer, "I wish to train you in the aura, I believe it can be of use to you in the coming battle. The flow of time will seek its balance one way or another as it always does, but the details of the journey, though only droplets in a giant river, may feel as floods to the individuals who live through them. Will you stay here and train?"

Ashimi's first thought was to agree, but then she remembered that these were not ordinary circumstances that she was in. She vaguely recalled seeing Jonathan, Dorme and Volt and their pokemon before fading away, if they were there, then their bodies would be safe. She wasn't sure where she had been, only that she was on an island, south of Cinnabar if she had to take a guess, because there were many small islands in that area. Their bodies were probably taken to Viridian City where they would be kept safe under maximum security, so that wasn't an issue, but that wasn't the only thing to consider. "I'm free of the evil and now Sabrina has it, in the end she didn't mean to let me make the sacrifice. I can't just leave her to face that thing alone. Besides, our friends and family will worry if they think we're all in a coma. Plus, even if I may not be able to do much, I think I will still be able to help at least a little, now that I'm free."

"I can contact Ash in a dream and tell him where you are," Aaron offered. "In time, you might even learn to do so yourself, though that particular technique isn't really of priority at the moment. As for being able to help, yes, you would be able to, and if it was vital, I would tell you to go, but Sabrina has a strong will. Her techniques cannot truly defeat the evil, but she can entrap it. I will not hide the fact that it will bring her suffering, but there is not much that can be done if she cannot be found. I know she is there in the world of the living and I know she is entrapping the evil, but I cannot locate where exactly they are, I don't think that's possible right now."

"In other words, even if I go, the help I could give isn't all that much," Ashimi realized.

"Not as you are now. It would be best if you remained here and prepared, then returned when it becomes time for the final confrontation. Either Sabrina will reveal herself, or the evil will emerge," Aaron explained. "Team Rocket is searching and I will continue searching as well. However, I will not keep you here if you do not wish to remain. I only hope that you will consider the option, you cannot change your mind once you decide to go back. The portals to the afterlife that could allow you to come here with your vessel have been closed for the past few years and show no signs of reopening in the near future. I can sense your souls are firmly linked to your bodies, but removing them again, without weakening the link would be dangerous."

"So another trip here is out of the question..." Ashimi mused.

"Not until the end of your life," Aaron nodded.

Ashimi thought about it for a moment longer and decided. She would miss her old life, but being here was more important, she could return to her life later as long as the link with her body wasn't lost. Besides, it would be amazing being trained by Aaron. Making up her mind, she communicated her choice, "I'm ready to start the training, Master."

Aaron smiled and nodded, glad to have gained a new student. "Very well, I will guide the rest of your companions back and we will begin training, but there is something I must do with Zero first."

"I'm not going anywhere," Furball protested.

"Same here!" Lightning added, they were followed by similar declarations by Chari, Wartortle, Clefable and Crobat. 

"This training is for aura users, but I am not opposed to your staying if you wish, and I'm sure you can find other ways to participate," Aaron replied. "Your pokemon are very loyal," he couldn't help it but to smile, recalling the bond he shared with Lucario. They were apart for now, but he knew they would be reunited again.

"I'm staying too," Zero decided. "I'm not even sure how I ended up here in the first place."

"If aniki is staying, then I'm staying!" Nidorino declared.

"It seems we'll have more company than expected, but it is alright, maybe you can help me set up some tests for Ashimi," Aaron laughed. "As for how you ended up here, Zero, this is the space between the living world and the afterlife, your spirit is here because it became detached from its current vessel, a crystal I believe. In other words, it's the same circumstance as the others, you are no different. I admit I am not particularly experienced in what they call technology, but here you are not a... what's the word... program. Here you don't have that aspect of your physical form, you are only energy, a soul. Because of that, the flow of your energy can be restored by your will and the chaotic flow that plagued it can be healed. That is what I hope to help you do, with some meditation, you can restore your energy to its proper flow so that you can project your vessel normally in the living world."

"Like finding myself to debug, sounds deep," Zero mused. "But all the things you said, does that mean I'm not in danger of becoming a missing number? A virtual being that ceases to function because it can't handle being truly alive?"

"You are already alive if that's what you're asking. Your body will become technology in that world, just as the others will be encased by flesh. You will probably live a very long life, but nothing lives forever in that world, so you will end up here eventually," Aaron revealed. "Well then, since everyone is staying, let's head over to the space I've prepared for the training and continue our discussion there."

"I was wondering about that," Ashimi admitted. "It's kind of hard to do a lot of different training when there's nothing to train with except our imagination."

"The imagination is a powerful thing," Aaron led the group through the endless swirls of colors to a sort of bubble. The bubble was about twice the size of Chari, but the space contained within was much larger. Aaron faded into the bubble, followed by the others, who were amazed at their surroundings, vast fields, blue skies and a castle in the distance in the middle of a lake. 

Yet the skies bent oddly, as if to remind them that though the space was wide, they were still inside a bubble and there were no other people to be found. The town and castle in the distance were like paintings on the inside of a large sphere. It was a place created by Aaron's memories, he could recreate any place he could remember, but if he tried recreating people they would not be real, so he preferred not to. None the less, the place did provide enough room to train and already had various contraptions set up with logs, ropes and boards like an obstacle course.

xoxox xox xoxox

Aaron managed to get in contact with Ash through his dreams and explained what had happened. The bodies of Ashimi and her pokemon were transported to Viridian City where they were kept safe. The search continued, but there was no sign of Sabrina anywhere. Tornado sometimes appeared to cause trouble and his powers seemed to be slowly growing. He wasn't as much a priority as Sabrina and Legend, but Team Rocket was keeping an eye on him too. Psychics were tricky to detect, especially since the equipment couldn't currently differentiate between human and pokemon psychic powers in use and the targets could teleport at will. 

To counter that, new technologies were being developed that could block psychic powers from being used in wider areas. It seemed as if it would work given some time. Tornado still slipped away after his latest encounter with Team Rocket, but he couldn't do much before being forced to retreat. Ash suspected that he had been in contact with Legend and received a portion of his power. Tornado had changed, becoming more chaotic as if that drop of Legend's power was enough to corrupt him terribly. With the negative energy being so concentrated in one spot, it had mutated in a sense, become very powerful and more firmly its own entity.

xoxox xox xoxox

As time passed, Ashimi's training continued. A log attached to a rope swung like a pendulum towards her. She dodged and continued on, balancing on a long thin board. Another smaller log came, along with a larger one ahead. Feeling unable to advance, Ashimi pushed the smaller log and tried to get past the larger one. The large log moved much slowly and still stood in the way when the smaller one came back and pushed her off the board she was balancing on. "Ow..." The bubble simulated the living world all too well, gravity included. Ashimi removed her blindfold and pouted.

"If you try to force the flow of energy to go in one direction..." Aaron reminded.

"It will only return to take its course more strongly," Ashimi recited. 

"Now tell me, what should you have done?" Aaron patiently inquired.

"Run faster?" A shake of the head of her instructor told Ashimi that was not the answer. "Step back, wait for the way to be clear and then move forward?"

"Yes," Aaron nodded. "Now try it again."

Ashimi knew that the pattern would not be the same, that was the convenience of having an imaginary training course, it could change any time. She practiced with exercises like that, developing her aura sight. Her favorites however were the active combat exercises that she could do with her pokemon. She could form orbs of aura as well as blades now and maintain them. 

The obstacle courses and mazes weren't so bad though, her most challenging effort went into meditation, sitting still was still not her forte, but at least she had Zero to sit with her, since it helped him find himself or debug or rather both. Often the pokemon would sit with them too, or join in other aspects of the training in their own way. That was how it continued for endless days, as the passing of time blended together and became almost imperceptible. 

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Chapter 42: Legacy (Part 1)

"When's she going to wake up?" The three year old boy asked his daily question again. Ever since he was introduced to his sister, he had been curious about that, though no one could give him a real answer.

"Probably soon, since she's been this way for a while," Jonathan replied. At least he hoped it was soon. 

Things had changed in ways that sometimes annoyed Giovanni. The world had recognized that it relied on Team Rocket whether they wanted to or not, so they mostly decided to do just that. Wherever, Legend was, it was gathering all the negative energy it could find. Team Rocket was still Team Rocket though, so when it wasn't being respected it was respected and feared, albeit that only happened on occasion lately. Giovanni found that a more aggressive empire where he was given a reason to put people in their place was easier to manage than this alliance of sorts where everyone was set on going to Team Rocket with their problems. 

Just that morning, queen Ilene had been requesting an investigation to see if anyone had crossed the forbidden border and did something to cause the withering of the time flowers. They were a prized product and no fancy mansion was complete without a time flower centerpiece in its garden, showcasing a recording of the latest elite party. The flowers withered when they were kept too far away from the Tree of Beginnings and not even the best gardeners could come up with a solution, but that only meant that people would keep returning every few months to buy a new time flower, regardless of how expensive they were. 

The Tree of Beginnings had been a difficult subject in the past, but in the end Ash managed to convince Giovanni that it was worth leaving it alone for the time being, since time flower revenues and the profitable alliance with queen Ilene were good deals. Plus a free legendary was better than a dead legendary anyway. While the tree itself was left alone, Mew wasn't, and anyone who spotted the rare pokemon would attempt a capture, just not when the pink feline retreated into the tree.

"Hey Johnny," the three year old looked up with a sparkle in his eyes and Jonathan knew that some odd idea was coming. 

"Yes, Aaron?" Ash and Misty's son had been named after the aura master who was training their daughter. He had Ash's dark hair and Misty's eyes. 

"Sis is a princess right? And she's sleeping, so she's like sleeping beauty. That means that if you kiss her, she'll wake up!" The little boy explained his logic as if it were the answer to everything.

"That won't really work in this case..." Jonathan attempted to reason with the boy.

"Try it!" Aaron insisted. "Or I'm telling mommy!"

"But I didn't do anything," Jonathan pointed out.

"That's what I'm telling her!" Aaron nodded in determination. "I'm telling mommy that you won't wake sis and that it's your fault she can't play with me!"

"It really doesn't work that way," Jonathan tried to explain. He heard someone coming and it was only a matter of time before they got past the last line of security. Depending on who it was out there, as there were only a handful of people allowed in that room, he could be saved or teased. "Because... because I'm not a prince!"

"Oh," Aaron frowned in disappointment, then his face brightened again. "I'm a prince, right? You can borrow being a prince."

"That's not something that can be borrowed..." Jonathan voiced.

Volt approached the pair, curious as to their conversation. Before he could ask anything, Aaron spoke first. "Volt! Where can we find a prince to kiss sis?"

"A prince?" Volt blinked in confusion. "Why does she need a prince? She can't date if she's asleep."

"Knowing Ashy, she'd sooner battle," Jonathan laughed and hoped the subject would drop.

"Good point," Volt nodded. "Anyway, I'm here to say goodbye to Ashimi before I head to Kalos tonight. It took some effort, but I finally cleared my schedule, being a gym leader can get busy at times." He approached the middle of the chamber where Ashimi slept, her pokemon were all around her in a similar state. Ash used his aura techniques to keep the energy flowing through them so that their physical forms would not deteriorate with the lack of movement, and Misty was Ashimi's personal nurse during her coma. "Hey, Ashimi, I finally got some time to go on another Rocket mission. I'll be heading off to Kalos tonight, maybe you'll be awake by the time I return and Zero will be back along with you and the pokemon."

Another person entered the room, having made it past the multiple locks, armed guards and various security measures. "Volt, you're already here, came to visit Ashimi before the trip? I had the same thing in mind." Dorme made it across the chamber to where Ashimi was. "That's a lovely kimono Misty got her, the cherry blossom theme is pretty, I think I'll do her hair." Sometimes Dorme came by and took care of Ashimi's hair, giving her various styles. She carefully worked on the long red strands, weaving two braids that went around her head like a tiara and leaving the rest down. "There, that's a style fit for a princess. Maybe by the time I get back you'll actually be able to thank me for keeping your hair nice during the past few years. Can't wait to see the Chibi, I'm going to hug that little guy forever." 

That was what they always said, that the next time they saw each other, Ashimi would be awake, though so far, it had not come true. It had to happen eventually, when Legend revealed itself Ashimi would return, or when she felt that there was nothing more to learn from Sir Aaron, whatever happened first, though it would most likely be the former. At least Sir Aaron managed to contact Ash in his dreams, so they knew Ashimi was okay and Zero was with her.

"I haven't been to Kalos in such a long time, I think the last time I was there was before you even started your journey." Dorme continued talking to Ashimi, though she couldn't reply and probably couldn't even hear. "The good news is that Volt is coming too and he's really good at carrying shopping bags," Dorme smiled mischievously. 

Volt gulped and took an involuntary step back. He gave Jonathan a look of distress, but he only grinned in return and reminded, "you're the one who wanted the mission." Volt couldn't deny that, at least he could take comfort in the fact that Dorme didn't get upset when he told her he would be going to Kalos instead of Jonathan as it was originally planned. She merely recited her plans to him as if she was just as happy. 

"I'm going to check out the Tree of Beginnings and see if I can find any signs of trespassing. I'll be back before tonight, so I'll see you off then," Jonathan announced.

"Dorme," Aaron suddenly piped up.

"What is it, sweetie?" Dorme smiled at the little boy.

"If there are princes at Kalos, could you bring one for sis?" Aaron requested.

Dorme laughed, "her prince might be closer than we know."

"Really?" Aaron's eyes shone with anticipation. "Then he's coming here, and he'll wake sis, and we can play?"

"Don't worry, your sister will wake up soon, with or without a prince, I'm sure of it," Dorme replied. "It's a good thing too, because most princes, except you, are not smart enough to know when they like a girl and take years to figure it out. If she had to wait for a prince she'd be asleep for another five years." Dorme laughed as if it was some kind of private joke that flew over everyone else's heads. "I think I'll tag along to the Tree of Beginnings, if we take one of the new hovercrafts it won't take long."

xoxox xox xoxox

For the most part, things looked peaceful in the area surrounding the Tree of Beginnings. Save for the dried up time flowers, there was no indication of anything being wrong. Jonathan, Dorme and Volt got as close as possible to the mountain, without getting close enough for its defenses to activate. "Any ideas?" Jonathan inquired.

Dorme shrugged, "none."

"Should we get a bit closer?" Volt asked. 

"I suppose," Jonathan agreed. "If we're too close I'm pretty sure we'll notice right away, or be made to notice, then we'll just get away."

The three quietly approached the mountain, but there were no signs of hostility, so they continued getting closer. "This is weird," Dorme finally voiced. "We should have been attacked by now."

"I agree, there's definitely something wrong here," Volt added.

"Let's check it out," Jonathan headed further in. He knew they weren't supposed to be there without official authorization and proper equipment, but nothing had happened so far. "You think Mew is okay?"

"If the boss had caught him, we would have heard about it. Maybe Mew stayed away for too long or something?" Dorme theorized, though none of them knew exactly how the Tree of Beginnings worked.

They venture further into the mountain, receiving no interference from anyone. They paused in front of a tunnel and, as they had gone that far without finding anything, they went in. "Do you think the Tree of Beginnings is..." Volt fell silent, but his friends were already looking at him expectantly, so he finished, "dying?"

"It does feel like a lifeless mountain," Jonathan observed. "Isn't this place connected to Mew? Can legendaries even die? I always thought they were so powerful that a natural death was not possible and who would have the power to hurt a legendary badly enough to kill it? Who would have the power without Team Rocket knowing about it?"

"Good question," Dorme let out a breath, she was starting to get impatient with the uneventful exploration, it further made her feel that something was very wrong. "This whole place is always being guarded and I didn't hear anything about intruders being detected, I'm sure the boss would have had a say in that."

"Yeah, and who could get past all the satellite security and all that stuff?" Volt added.

The situation reminded Jonathan of something that made him pause. "Legend..." he voiced in a small whisper, that did not go unheard by his companions. "Ashy was closely guarded and she was taken anyway."

"Are you saying that Legend is here?" Dorme gasped.

"Or used to be," Jonathan clarified. "If it were here now, it should have detected us and kicked us out, maybe in a way that we would think it's the normal defenses kicking in. There's no point in letting us go this far."

"Could Legend really intrude in a place like this undetected?" Volt tried to make sense of it. "It's made of negative energy and this place is..." The Vermilion gym leader suddenly reached a realization, "it's full of life and positive energy, if Legend was strong enough to keep itself unaffected, then it would be the perfect hiding place so Ash wouldn't be able to sense it."

"If that's the case then-" Dorme fell silent as she peeked into another tunnel past a close corner and drew in a sharp breath. "Look at this!" She pointed, unable to comprehend the sight before her.

"Regirock... Registeel... Regice... Statues?" Jonathan carefully approached the stones and observed their details. "I've never seen the real ones in person, but these are exactly like the holograms from the Rocket database, and that's supposed to be pretty accurate."

"Am I the only one who thinks it makes no sense for mere statues to be here?" Volt inquired, hinting at a theory that felt too much to be true, yet he had to wonder. "I mean, who sculpted them and why here? Unless..."

"Unless they're not rocks? Could Legend have done this to the actual pokemon?" Dorme stared at the statues, as if expecting them to show signs of life.

"That's what we'll have to find out..." Jonathan called headquarters, this was definitely something worth reporting.

xoxox xox xoxox

"Something's off..." Ash met up with the group at the Tree of Beginnings. "This place is definitely still alive, I can feel it, and it still feels powerful, but it's odd that it's not doing anything." Ash closely examined the stone statues. 

"Are they...?" Dorme quietly asked.

"Yes," Ash confirmed. "They're real... Something definitely happened here, even if I can't sense it, it's so strange. It might be the work of Legend, but at the same time this petrified state seems familiar, as if it was done with a massive amount of psychic energy, like what happened to me in the past. Back then, my aura drew power from everyone around me, they gave me their energy without even realizing it, but for the longest time I didn't remember." Ash paused and stared at the petrified pokemon for a long moment. "I think I can free them." 

Ash closed his eyes in concentration as a soft pale blue glow surrounded him. Jonathan, Dorme and Volt gave him some room and watched quietly. 'It's time...' a voice echoed in Ash's mind, but he didn't stop what he was doing. The soft glow surrounded the pokemon one by one as he focused on each individually. Several moments passed at that rate. 'You must be careful...' Ash continued his task, though the voice gave a warning, it was soothing and he felt like he could trust it. Finally, the three pokemon were free from the stone, though they were far too weak to take any action, they just laid there, fainted, but they were alive and would eventually recover if they rested. 'She'll be there soon...'

Ash's eyes snapped open as he got out of his concentration trance and recognized the voice. "Sir Aaron!" He tried to reestablish the communication. He had never spoken to Aaron outside of dreams and even then, it was very brief. Ash realized everyone was looking at him expectantly and he smiled as he understood the news. "Ashimi is coming back!" The mountain shook violently all of a sudden as if awakening from a long sleep, but it did not immediately attack them, instead what was really going on was revealed. Ash's sudden happiness turned to worry, "Legend..." he gasped.

"Here, now?" Volt looked around as if expecting the fiend to appear anywhere.

"The strength I feel isn't from the mountain, it's from Legend, it was hiding behind the energy of the Tree of Beginnings, that's why no matter how strong it got I couldn't find it! Mew must have been resisting this whole time, unable to communicate with anyone." Ash clenched his fists in frustration. "I should have come here, I should have checked in person."

"No one could have known..." Jonathan quietly voiced. "So what now? We find Mew?" Assuming the legendary was still alive.

"Yes," Ash agreed, "the Tree of Beginning is very weak, but definitely still alive, Legend is still partially hiding behind its aura. Mew should be here, and Legend..."

"What?" Dorme gasped, "Legend is actually still here? But we walked right in and you freed the pokemon!"

"It wasn't easy," Ash admitted. "This must be the reason why Sir Aaron is sending Ashimi back, it's time to face Legend. It must have known that someone would investigate if the time flowers were affected and I would likely end up coming here. It let me free the pokemon so I would use up my energy, but that won't be enough to stop me. Ashimi will probably come here, I can't help it but to worry about her, but I trust her and I trust Sir Aaron taught her well. She might even be able to teach me a few things later." Ash walked towards one of the tunnels. "I'll go on ahead and find Mew, you three meet up with Ashimi and return here, call for backup too. I want to welcome her, but I really can't wait another second before going after Mew." Without allowing any room for arguments, Ash dashed into the tunnel.

xoxox xox xoxox

"Ashimi, wait!" Misty called out from the bridge of the massive battle airship she was on. Giovanni was on the same vessel and the only reason Delia agreed to stay behind at headquarters, was because someone had to take care of little Aaron. The young boy didn't know exactly what was going on and why his sister had to leave so soon after waking up, but he knew there was a certain tension in the air that made him uneasy. His grandmother was very good at keeping him calm though, cookies were an excellent distraction for small children. Right now the commanding vessel was in pursuit of Ashimi, who had taken off on Chari, with her pokemon.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Zero materialized in the airship. He now had the appearance of a teenager rather than a child, having become able to change into a more suitable projection to his mental age after his code was completely debugged. He could move freely through the wireless signals and could basically teleport anywhere the signal reached by digitalizing. He was currently borrowing Prism's satellite for those functions, though he was sure he could get his own later. 

'That's right, aniki and I will be there too!' Nidoking cheered. Like all pokemon, he could be digitalized, and when he was, Zero could take him along when he teleported through the wireless. 

"See you later!" Zero disappeared again, taking Nidoking with him.

"Wait a minute!" Misty called after him, but he was already gone. "There they all go, rushing in, Ash is in there too," she frowned. Well she wasn't about to be left out. She looked at the mountain where Ashimi had landed, she would have to hurry if she was going to catch up, but suddenly the airship shook and was thrown slightly back. 

In a split second the deck was in turmoil as Giovanni shouted orders and the airship tried to break through an energy barrier that now surrounded the mountain. The lasers bounced off dangerously and the missiles exploded on the surface of the shield, their force redirected outward. A multitude of shadowy creatures began to emerge from the mountain and pass beyond the shield to the outside world. They were identified as pokemon, though they were clearly being controlled by Legend. Misty watched the chaos unfold, wishing she had time to get inside the shield before it closed her off. 

"They can be captured!" Butch and Cassidy's son informed. Misty focused on that new information, as Giovanni issued commands to his troops. Apparently the controlled pokemon were harmless if they were caught. Doing so required them to be weakened, but it would be significantly faster than attempting to get rid of them permanently, especially with how lifelessly they moved while under Legend's control. It was only a theory, but maybe they would fight beyond their very lives if not captured. They were not using ordinary pokeballs, but rather a special edition of Team Rocket made pokeballs that was more forceful with the capture and locking mechanisms.

The airships continued to blast at the shield, though they were now being careful of the energy that bounced off. The ships began to move further back to more effectively dodge the consequences of their attempts to break through the shield. "I'm going out," Misty ran off before Giovanni even had the chance to reply. She would get some of those Rocket pokeballs and capture as many pokemon as she could before they reached the town.

xoxox xox xoxox

The mountain's expected defenses activated, though they were being controlled by Legend. Ashimi's return was expected and now that Legend had gathered all the power it could, it was ready for a showdown. It would not hide any longer, it would have the battle that was inevitably going to happen. The mountain shook with tunnels opening up and a strange substance dragging Jonathan, Dorme and Volt in different directions.

xoxox xox xoxox

Volt struggled free of the odd goop that tried to restrain his movements. He was in a large chamber with multiple tunnels that opened up to give way to several pokemon and closed behind them. The pokemon were surrounded in a strange shadowy aura and Volt knew right away they had to be being controlled. There was no telling how many pokemon wandered into the mountain, or were possibly lured in discreetly, to serve as Legend's army in this moment. "If it's a battle you want, I'll show you the true power of the Vermilion City gym leader!" Volt wasted no time in summoning all his pokemon; Raichu, Electabuzz, Magnezone, and the two Electrode, Celes and Rodes appeared from the red beams of their pokeballs.

Volt realized that one of the shadowy figures was not a pokemon, it was a person, but their identity remained a mystery because of the heavy dark fog around them. At least the shadows around the pokemon were not thick enough to hide their identity, not that it made things much better: they were all ground types, or a combination of another type and ground, two Sandslash, two Marowaks and three Golems. 'Are you ready?' A confident yet empty female voice was heard telepathically and Volt assumed it was the shadowy person. 'Who am I you ask? It doesn't matter who I used to be, now and forever, I am part of the Legend.'

"You... can read my thoughts," Volt glared at the girl. This would not be easy if she could predict his strategy.

'The air here is thick with psychic energy, even a non-psychic like yourself can manage telepathy. Connect your mind with your pokemon and lead them in battle without words and without pause. May they move as fast as your thoughts...' The mysterious girl went on the attack. She voiced no commands and Volt could no longer hear her voice in his head, but the pokemon reacted as if they knew what she wanted them to do.

The three Golems rolled towards Volt's pokemon in a bulldoze attack. He didn't even have time to speak when his pokemon were already moving out of the way. That in itself was not strange, the peculiar fact was that they moved as he pictured them in such detail that Volt realized he didn't even have to think in full sentences for the telepathy to work, it was as if his pokemon could sense what he wanted them to do and understood his mental images and thoughts. 

The Marowaks tossed their bone clubs like boomerangs and Raichu sprang up, spinning in the air to bat them away with his tail. The clubs were tossed aside and the Marowaks rushed to retrieve them. Celes and Rodes rolled at them with great speed and tackled them away from their weapons. Simultaneously, the two Sandslash went after Electabuzz. They slashed at him rapidly, but Electabuzz was fast and evaded their hits, looking for an opening to fight back wouldn't be easy, but after a while the Sandslash slowed down a little and Electabuzz took the opportunity to hit them both with brick break.

Magnezone released super sonic waves into the chamber, focusing on the three Golems. Two of them crashed against each other and took a moment to go on the attack again, but the third did not relent. Magnezone responded by attacking with flash canon. The affected Golem tried to evade and crashed into a wall as it rolled. The other two were back in the battle and attacked with explosion. Magnezone was thrown back unconscious because of the double point blank explosions. A terrible pain invaded Volt, all of a sudden when Magnezone fainted and he was temporarily disconnected from his pokemon, he suspected the girl had something to do with that side effect. All his team felt it too, as if Magnezone's pain affected them all. Rodes acted rashly in the desperate moment and rushed towards the remaining golem. They both detonated on impact and fainted.

Volt gasped and tried to regain his bearings. "Magnezone, Rodes, return!" He recalled the two fainted pokemon out of harm's way. No doubt about it, Legend was drastically increasing the strength of the pokemon he controlled. Usually not even an explosion or two could knock out his pokemon. "Don't give up!"

The two Marowaks had picked up their bone clubs and were ganging up on Celes. Volt willed her not to explode. Raichu hurried towards her with great speed in a wild charge. He tackled one Marowak throwing him into the other and pushing them both down. The shadowy energy around them increased and they threw Raichu off. Celes joined him and they faced off against the Marowak pair together, evading the swings of their clubs, which they didn't seem as willing to throw as before. Celes attacked with a thunderbolt, although it wouldn't be effective, it was a good distraction. Raichu took the opportunity to hit both Marowak with iron tail and Celes charged in to tackle them when their bone weapons were lowered. She ran over both, pushing them on top of each other and as they tried to get up, Raichu finished them off with giga impact.

At the same time, Electabuzz was fighting the two Sandslash. They had managed to injure him with their sharp claws, but Electabuzz didn't show any signs of giving up. The two Sandslash attacked at the same time with poison jab. Electabuzz dodged and responded with low sweep. Since Electabuzz was taller, the Sandslash were focused on attacks coming from higher and were thrown out of balance. Electabuzz quickly went on the attack again with focus blast. One of the Sandslash was hit, but the other one dodged out of the way and countered with x-scissor, Electabuzz tried to dodge, albeit one of Sandslash's claws still reached him. Electabuzz jumped back and used another focus blast, they weren't expecting him to recover so quickly, so both the Sandslash were hit and tossed back in a pile. Wasting no time, Electabuzz used giga impact and knocked them out.

For a moment it looked as if the battle was over. Electabuzz, Raichu and Celes went to regroup with Volt when without warning a Rhydon broke through the cave wall and crashed into Celes with drill run. Raichu and Electabuzz hurried after them, but were interrupted by a massive Onix emerging from the cave floor. Celes tried to roll away and position herself for a counter attack, but the Onix attacked with earthquake and Rhydon took the opportunity to attack with megahorn and knocked her out. "Celes return! Electabuzz, Raichu, be careful!" Volt knew that they had already heard his thoughts, but he said it anyway. These pokemon were massively strong and they just kept coming, the others were probably in a situation that was just as bad. Suddenly, a portion of the cave wall behind the mysterious girl collapsed and a tall man in a military style Rocket uniform rushed in. He tossed what looked like a grenade at the girl's feet, though instead of exploding, it produced an electrical current that knocked her out. "Electro!" Volt gasped at the arrival of his brother.

"Hey!" Volt grinned and gave a thumbs up, Pikablue, the blue pikachu, hopped on his shoulder and Electavire stood beside him. Onix and Rhydon looked confused and unsure of what to do. "This place is under lockdown with some strange shield, but a few of us made it close enough to get in before it activated. I saw a Charizard carrying a redhead girl land near the peak of the mountain, I'm sure she already made her way inside..."

Volt smiled, "Ashimi's here!" He didn't have much time to celebrate, as the shadows around the unconscious girl faded and he stared in surprise. "Janebelle? I thought she was dead."

"I feel bad about lying to you, little bro, but that was a cover so we could interrogate her without Ashimi trying to interfere. She was released when we made sure she had nothing more to say and kept under watch in case anything suspicious happened, or if she led us to discover anything," Electro explained. "She eventually slipped away and we never heard from her again. There were suspicions that she might have been kidnapped by Tornado, but I'm not sure how she ended up here." The shadows around Onix and Rhydon increased and a multitude of Dugtrio emerged from all around the cave walls, floor and even the ceiling. The chamber shook with many rocks falling down. Electro picked up the unconscious Janebelle and hurried towards his brother, "take her and get out of here!" 

Onix and Rhydon, roared fiercely with a renewed will to fight, it all had to be Legend's doing. "I can't leave you here!" Volt argued.

"Do what I say, that's an order!" Electro shouted. "Besides," he added in a softer tone, "Ashimi's going to need all her friends by her side if she's going to win this."

"You're right..." Volt realized. "You better come out of this alive!" Volt recalled Raichu and Electabuzz then went on the retreat, taking Janebelle with him.

xoxox xox xoxox

In a different area of the mountain, Dorme was battling a mysterious unknown opponent. She had called out Pidgeot to face her opponent's Braviary. Braviary started things off with aerial ace. Pidgeot dodged the hits and responded with hurricane. Braviary flew high, close to the tall cave ceiling and dove down, defying the strong winds in a an air slash. Pidgeot had to cease his attack to dodge out of the way of Braviary's claws. The eagle flapped his strong wings and caught up to Pidgeot in mid air, they became locked in combat with slash and peck attacks. Neither pokemon had time to break away from the close combat to use a different attack. There was nothing more to do but to keep fighting, there weren't any openings and Braviary wasn't lowering his guard. 

Suddenly the mountain shook and rocks fell from the ceiling, causing the two bird pokemon to separate to dodge the falling debris. "Go for it Pidgeot, hurricane!" Braviary didn't have enough time to recover from his frantic flying to dodge the falling rocks and the hurricane attack caught him off guard. He tried to regain his balance in the air and countered with brave bird, but he was met with a hyper beam from Pidgeot, which finally knocked him out. 'I think I'm getting the hang of this telepathy thing,' Dorme thought. 'Too bad it's only temporary while we're in the mountain... Though I'm pretty sure the mountain isn't supposed to be this way normally.'

The shadowy figure recalled Braviary, the mystery person had only spoken a few words. Dorme knew she was a girl and there was something familiar about her. The next pokemon she called out was Venusaur and Dorme knew right away who she was dealing with. "Daala!" The vigilante didn't reply, she only sent Venusaur on the attack. Dorme knew that if she focused hard enough, only her pokemon would be able to hear her thoughts, as it happened with Daala, who showed no reaction to her identity being discovered. Dorme thought it was odd that she was hiding her face in the first place. She had been rather inactive lately, but she never have trouble with people seeing who she was in the past.

Venusaur began with a storm of razor leaves, which Pidgeot blew away with hurricane, as a gust wouldn't have been strong enough for the massive amount of leaves. Following the leaves, Venusaur's vine whips extended towards Pidgeot with such speed, that the bird couldn't dodge out of the way. He was trapped and pulled towards the grass type that held her opponent captive and prepared to fire a solar beam. Pidgeot's wings took on a metallic texture as he broke free from the vine whips with steel wing and dodged out of the way barely on time. The solar beam still caught his tail feathers, though he was still able to fight, albeit he was feeling out of balance in the air.

Venusaur attacked with petal dance before Pidgeot could fully recover. The bird tried to blow away the petals, though he couldn't do it before taking damage. Pidgeot bravely dove in for an aerial ace attack, which hit the target, but at the same time he was hit with Venusaur's takedown. The two pokemon were tossed back by the force of the impact and Pidgeot fainted. Venusaur roared as Dorme recalled Pidgeot and sent out her next pokemon: Bellossom. The smaller grass type charged against the much larger pokemon with a leaf storm, Venusaur replying with the same attack. 

Bellossom took advantage of her speed and agility to dodge the leaves and get closer to Venusaur. She attacked with two consecutive energy balls, but Venusaur released a solar beam she had been charging behind the furious curtain of leaves. The attacks collided, tossing the pokemon back, especially the lighter Bellossom. 'Don't give up, we can do this!' Dorme thought as she focused on finding an opening. Bellossom, got up and out of the way just in time to dodge Venusaur's tackle, which sent the larger grass type crashing against the cave wall. Bellossom didn't waste the opportunity and used grass knot before Venusaur could fully recover. She followed up with a solar beam, Venusaur tried to fight back with a solar beam of her own, but it was too late. Bellossom's powerful solar beam collided with the target and knocked her out.

Daala wordlessly recalled Venusaur. "I know we can talk to our pokemon with our minds, but the silence is really getting to me!" All that could be heard were the sounds of the battle and nothing more. Daala wasn't usually this quiet, which made Dorme conclude that she must really be being controlled. Remaining silent still, Daala summoned Donphan to the battle field.

Donphan went on the move immediately with rollout. Bellossom jumped out of the way to avoid getting flattened by the larger pokemon. Dorme knew that Bellossom wouldn't be able to get in for a close range attack, in fact it was too risky to even try. Her best chance was to put some distance between the two pokemon and use long range attacks. While Donphan hurried to roll after Bellossom, the grass type attacked with toxic, filling the battle area with a poisonous mist.

Donphan became inevitably poisoned, but didn't even slow down on his attack. He rolled across the cave chamber and partially up a wall with the momentum, then pushed off sideways and landed heavily with an earthquake attack. The cave chamber shook violently and rocks fell from the ceiling. The earthquake threw everyone out of balance, Donphan hurried towards the fallen Bellossom, running her over. Bellossom remained flat on the ground for several seconds while Donphan assessed the situation.

Suddenly, Bellossom jumped up and used venoshock, Donphan was hit hard, but Bellossom was in too much pain and could no longer fight. None the less, she gave it her best effort and released her stun spores before fainting. Dorme recalled Bellossom and released Hitmonlee from his pokeball. Donphan was kicked across the cave chamber before he could react and crashed harshly against the wall. He slid down and tried to get on his feet, but another solid kick knocked him out.

Daala recalled Donphan and released her next pokemon, Rapidash. The unicorn dashed into the battle without hesitation with a flame charge attack. Hitmonlee jumped out of the way and dashed around Rapidash. The unicorn turned and charged in with mega horn. Hitmonlee evaded the hits until he was up against the wall. Seeing her opponent was trapped, Rapidash went for the final hit, but Hitmonlee jumped high, flipped in the air and landed on Rapidash's back.

Hitmonlee jumped off the unicorn as her flames flared to cover her entire body. The fighter waited a moment while charging a focus blast, then released it as Rapidash approached. Rapidash simultaneously attacked with fire blast and both pokemon were thrown back by the explosion that resulted when their powers collided. The combatants were left barely able to stand. Rapidash went on the offensive again with fire blast, Hitmonlee quickly dodged and stomped his feet as he stayed on the move, while causing an earthquake just strong enough to throw the fire type off balance. Hitmonlee took the opportunity to finish the battle with mega kick. Just before the kick landed, in a split second Rapidash released the last of her fire and left Hitmonlee burned.

Dorme knew Hitmonlee couldn't go on like that. He was a step away from fainting, so she recalled him. Daala released her final pokemon into the battle, Houndoom. Dorme called out the last pokemon she had as well, but she didn't feel backed into a corner at all, because this one was her strongest and she was feeling confident about winning. "Go, my beautiful Ninetales!" Dorme grinned victoriously, she knew there was no way Houndoom stood a chance.

Houndoom growled threateningly and refused to back down, the dark canine dashed towards his opponent and tried to attack with giga impact. Ninetales jumped out of the way and retaliated with a strong hyper beam, that came so fast there was no way for Houndoom to dodge. The dark type was thrown back several feet, colliding with the cave wall. For a second it looked like a one hit knockout, but Houndoom got back to his feet surrounded by a bright glow. This was Daala's secret move, her final chance to win. Dorme stared in shock as mega Houndoom stood before her, now on equal grounds with Ninetales. 

The power of inferno burned around mega Houndoom as he dashed in for a beat up attack. Ninetales didn't even have time to counter now that Houndoom was so much faster in mega form. The fox howled and tried to break free from the close combat they were locked in. She blasted him with fire and tried to use it as a distraction, but mega Houndoom remained unaffected and broke through the flames, attacking with fire fang. Ninetales howled in pain, the blood from the wound soaking her beautiful fur. "This can't be!" Dorme ran to her pokemon's side in desperation, but Houndoom jumped and stood in front of her. Dorme stopped, knowing that the dark fire pokemon could incinerate her in a few seconds. 

Ninetales howled as if calling her opponent back to fight her, angry that he had threatened her trainer, her voice echoed with her power and the psyshock hit mega Houndoom hard. Before the canine could recover, Ninetales reached out to him with her tails as if to curse him. "Houndoom!" Daala reacted quickly and tackled mega Houndoom out of the way, in too much of a rush to even think of recalling him. The shadowy energy around her faded and her eyes became focused. Houndoom returned to his normal form, giving Daala a confused look. The worry she felt seeing her pokemon about to be cursed freed her from the trance and from Legend's control, at least for a moment. 

The shadowy energy returned around Daala, also appearing around Houndoom. "Ninetales, psyshock them both!" Ninetales used just enough power to knock them out. Dorme looked at the unconscious trainer and pokemon, she didn't know what to do with them, but one thing was for sure, she couldn't just leave them there. She recalled Houndoom back into his pokeball and called back Ninetales to rest as well, then picked up the unconscious Daala, hoping she could regroup before running into any more trouble.

xoxox xox xoxox

Volt emerged from a tunnel into a larger cave chamber, at the end of which he saw light. He hurried out to the surface of the mountain and saw the shield that surrounded it, trapping them inside. He looked down over the edge as many shadowy creatures shaped like pokemon and actual pokemon covered in shadows emerged from the base of the mountain. The latter were brainwashed pokemon, no doubt, and if he had to take a guess about the former, they were probably manifestations of Legend's power, and if that was the case, they wouldn't be defeated until it was. He saw Misty outside of the barrier further away, she was with Jessie, James and several others, fighting off the shadowy creatures. 

A laser blast hit the barrier and threw Volt back, but the shield remained in place. From the other side of the mountain inside the barrier, a dragon pokemon flew towards Volt. She landed and the rider jumped off her back. He didn't say anything before sending Salamence on the attack. Volt released Electrabuzz and Raichu from their pokeballs to defend against the dragon breath. It was two against one, but Salamence was well rested, while Raichu and Electabuzz were not, so it all even out in the end and the battle could go either way.

The electric pokemon worked together to counter with a massive thunder attack, the energy of all the combatants exploding in a colossal display of power. Raichu disappeared into the mountain with dig, while Electabuzz used another thunder attack. Salamence attacked Electabuzz with dragon claw, just as Raichu jumped out behind her and used volt tackle. Salamence was forced to turn her attention towards Raichu, giving Electabuzz some time to recover.

Dorme appeared from another tunnel and spotted the battle. As she approached, the intense noise of the fight woke Janebelle, who gave Volt a confused look. "Janebelle?" She seemed defenseless enough, so volt set her on her feet, with Dorme watching, unknown to him.

"Who are you? What's going on?" Janebelle stared in perplexity, then her expression turned almost panicked as she realized there was something else, more vital, that she didn't know. "Who am I?"

At a loss, volt could only reassure her, "it's okay, I'll get you to safety somehow."

"You're here to save me?" Janebelle gave volt a long studying look, then stood on her tiptoes and stretched up her arm, reaching up just high enough to touch his hair. "You have such pretty golden hair."

Before Volt could react, Janebelle was suddenly on the floor, knocked out and a furious looking Dorme was glaring at him. "What do you think you're doing letting some suspicious girl touch your hair? I worked hard to make it as pretty as Johnny's!"

Volt jumped back, "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry! Wait a minute, why am I apologizing? I didn't do anything wrong!" Dorme growled and Volt gulped, "but I'm sorry anyway?" He offered unsure. "Aren't you more concerned about her being Janebelle, the girl who we thought was dead?"

"I don't care if she's the ghost of princess Aquamarine!" Dorme pouted.

"Ow..." Daala, who had been dropped by Dorme when she rushed out to get Janebelle away from Volt, had a rude awakening with the impact and dizzily got on her feet, examining her surroundings in confusion. "Arrow?" She looked at the shadowy figure on the opposite side of the battlefield. "Arrow!" She tried to approach him, but it was clear that he didn't recognize her or anyone else.

"Looks like you're awake, I mean really awake," Dorme observed. "What's going on?"

"Arrow and I had been tracking Tornado, or rather, Tornado was letting us follow him, I should have known it was a trap. The consequence is what you see," Daala explained with a tone of defeat, yet the promise of revenge. "Legend is controlling him, and it was controlling me too, wasn't it?"

"It looked that way," Dorme confirmed. She watched the battle progress, while also keeping an eye on Daala. There wasn't much she could do to turn the tides, her pokemon were not fit to battle Salamence, she was certainly a lot stronger than expected. 

Raichu and Electabuzz landed another hit with a double thunder and it finally looked as if Salamence was close to fainting, but their electricity was drained and they wouldn't be able to fight on much longer either. The energy shield around the mountain flickered and one of the missiles from the Team Rocket armada went through. The barrier was back up quickly, but the damage from the missile was done and an avalanche of rocks fell down upon the ground. Volt recalled his exhausted pokemon before the falling rocks could further harm them and retreated. They thought Arrow would retreat, but he just stood there. 

"Arrow!" Daala called out to him, but there was no way she could get to him on time. Salamence hurried towards him and shielded him from the falling rocks, both becoming buried under a big pile. Daala rushed over and started pushing the rocks aside, Volt and Dorme soon joined her. Salamence was injured and barely conscious, but alive. It looked like Arrow was unconscious, but he was still breathing and the shadowy energy was gone from around him. Salamence's actions must have somehow snapped him out of it at the last second. "It's okay, I'll make sure he's alright," Daala petted Salamence gently and returned her to her pokeball. Arrow woke with a start and stared wide-eyed at his surroundings. "That was fast," Daala returned the pokeball. 

Arrow looked both shocked and in pain. "No..." He closed his eyes tightly as the shadows surrounded him again. The translucent black energy clung to him like armor and extended as a spear in his hand. His eyes were once again lifeless and lost.

"Arrow..." Daala stepped back in alarm. "Let him go, Legend, let him go!" She shouted in anger and frustration.

Arrow didn't reply, but he nearly stabbed her with his spear if not for the sky attack that knocked him off his feet. Altaria landed near the group and Stella jumped off her back. She had managed to get in when the barrier flickered earlier. "Daala, Arrow, Janebelle, I must detain you here, in the name of Team Rocket, do not resist. Dorme and Volt, you must regroup with Ashimi, she is somewhere in this mountain, find her and support her in this battle, that is your mission. Hurry up and go!" Not daring to question Stella when she was looking so ready for a fight, Volt and Dorme headed back inside the mountain through the tunnel.

xoxox xox xoxox

In a different area of the mountain... "Ashimi!" Zero looked around but found nothing that indicated where she could have gone. They got separated fighting off an ambush of shadowy creatures not long ago. "I guess it's just you and me, Nidoking."

'I'm ready, aniki, we'll fight through this maze and find Ashimi!' Nidoking replied with great determination, though it would take more than that, as the shadowy beings were coming back. 

The shadows took on the shape of pokemon, though sometimes only partially and sometimes they were mixed up with the body of one creature, mismatching limbs and the head of another. "I could sense the satellite signal for a second, I'm pretty sure that was the force field flickering and now look at these creatures, Legend's getting sloppy. Ashimi mentioned she sensed her father moving closer to the core, he must already be there by now. Let's do our part too, Nidoking!"

Nidoking began by slowing the shadows down with earthquake and following up with thunder. He didn't stop there, releasing attacks in rapid succession. Two shadow balls, and then two more, collided with four shadowy enemies, but more were moving in fast. Zero zapped a few of them with his electrical powers, it was part of what he was meant to have, that he couldn't use before due to the bugs that used to plague his system in the past. The shadowy creatures kept getting stranger as they poured into the area. One had the body of a Drapion, Scyther arms and wings like a Flygon, another had a Heracross horn on a Reuniclus body with Barbaracle claws, and so on.

Focus blast, mega horn, fire blast, hyper beam, giga impact... Nidoking fought strongly and defeated many shadows, but there were simply too many and Nidoking was getting exhausted. "Sorry Nidoking, I can't do much without a satellite and even if I had one, all I could do inside here is..." Suddenly, Zero felt a wireless signal nearby and hurried towards Nidoking, then as soon as he reached him, they both disappeared.

Nidoking looked around in confusion, 'aniki?'

"I teleported us," Zero explained. He grinned over at Pixel, who had sent the signal to him, Comet was with her too. "It's okay now, hop into my data storage and rest."

'Okay, see you later aniki...' Nidoking faded away, he was digitalizing into Zero's own data, as he now had the capacity to carry data in himself, including pokemon data.

"You look even more like Comet now," Pixel ruffled Zero's orange and blue hair.

"You think so?" Comet observed, with an identical grin on his face.

"Yeah, you both definitely have the same cocky grin," Pixel nodded. 

"Too bad we don't have much time to catch up now. You should be on your way to find Ashimi," Comet reminded. The shadowy creatures began to pour into the cave chamber they were at, having followed Zero. "Leave the rest to us."

"Right! Let's catch up after we win this!" Zero hugged them both then went to try to regroup with Ashimi.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ash reached the core of the Tree of Beginnings, where he found a bright bubble of light forming a shield around a feline silhouette. The light came from a crystal blade, a Honedge. It was rare to see such a pokemon in Kanto, especially one with such an appearance. Ash had seen a crystal Onix before and heard of other crystal pokemon being discovered, though they were extremely rare, and he had never heard of a Honedge before. The aura that came from the sword was soothing and familiar. The shield faded to allow Ash passage, though the glow still surrounded the pink feline. 

"Mew..." Ash knelt beside the legendary, he had been weakened considerably because of the state of the Tree of Beginnings. He looked at the familiar blade, "you're..."

"I have been trying to protect Mew," a calm male voice echoed from the sword. "Mew is still fighting, the Tree of Beginnings has not given up. I sense Master Aaron's pupil is already here, she seeks out the Legend to put an end to this."

"Ashimi..." Ash wanted to run to her immediately and his intention was clear in the flow of his energy.

"I cannot feed Mew's energy for much longer, you will be most useful here. I have become exhausted," Honedge admitted, "but there is still something I can do if I go. You are the only one who can help Mew. You must trust your daughter to defeat the Legend and help her from here, this is the task you must do."

It was difficult to accept it, but Ash knew that Honedge was right. "I understand... Leave Mew to me." He began to project his aura onto Mew, taking Honedge's place. The energy flowed through the Tree of Beginnings with renewed vigor, Honedge had truly been at his limit, which made Ash wonder what more he could do in such a state. "Are you really..."

"It is I," Honedge replied before Ash finished the question. "My memories are unclear, but I know what I must do. I leave Mew and the Tree of Beginnings to you, I must go and do all I can..."

To be Continued

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 40: I borrowed some more names, as per the usual references: Genesis and Reno are from Final Fantasy VII, Ceodore is from IV and Fratley from IX, Abeloth is from Star Wars. If you're curious about what Abeloth was going on about Lance's family, they are alternate universe references about a certain someone in Nafatali's fanfic, The Inheritence. Ash using the aura to fight was inspired by another of my favorite stories, which you should also read, The Enigma Chronicles by Rocketlord6485, both Echoes and Sedition have some awesome action and character development as well as some very interesting origin stories. 

Chapter 41: There's a little reference to the beginning of The Enigma Chronicles: Sedition by Rocketlord6485, in the end of this chapter. Pretty easy to see if you've already read it. It was that story that made me develop an interest in Aaron's character.

Chapter 42: Ash was petrified in the first movie during the battle of Mewtwo vs. Mew, those memories were locked away, but resurfaced years later due to Ash's aura abilities.


	15. Chapter 15

Awakening

Chapter 43: Legacy (Part 2)

Jonathan wondered through the dark tunnels of the mountain, trying to regroup with his friends. He saw a strange light ahead and went to investigate. Odd shapeless shadows were casted on the walls of the large cave chamber, making little sense in relation to what it held. One figure stepped forward, surrounded in a shadowy mist and Jonathan was shocked to see him. "You're... me?" To his surprise, he found himself staring into a face identical to his own, in every way, except for the evil reflected in his eyes. "What are you?" He demanded uneasy.

"I'm you," a twisted version of his voice replied. "And I have a very important thing to ask myself. What is it that you hope to accomplish?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jonathan challenged, "we're going to defeat Legend!"

"That's not what I asked," the copy shook his head. "What is it that you intend to do? To be the ideal Rocket ? What does that mean? What do you hope to accomplish? Aren't you bored? It's all pointless and boring isn't it? Your greatest fear is coming true. After this battle, it'll happen, what you fear the most."

"I don't fear anything!" Jonathan snapped. "Are you looking for a fight? Then why don't you just say it?"

"I wanted you to answer me first," the copy calmly insisted with a mocking air. "But I see that you won't, so I'll answer for you. All your life you've been a Rocket, it's all you know how to do. Your greatest fear is to lose your motivation, because then you'll have nothing. you've been going on missions and staying active, you've been training hard and climbing the ranks, but there's something missing, you've been bored."

"What are you, some kind of mind reader? If you are, then you should know I fully intend to defeat you. you should know I'm completely loyal to Team Rocket and that I'm happy with the life I live..." Jonathan paused, and glared at the copy. "It's true though, things have gotten a bit boring since Ashy's been asleep, but it's only natural to miss my best friend. That's about to end now, she's back and Zero came back with her, so things will be back to normal. Ashy will probably want to visit more regions and there's still so much of this world that Zero needs to see too. Maybe we can get Dorme and Volt to come too."

"That is your wish..." The copy grinned evilly. "It can never be, it will shatter sooner or later. You wait for the princess to return and restore things to the way they were, but that can never be. She has changed, she has mentally aged well beyond her years and mastered the aura after training non-stop for over three years. Her master, her pokemon and Zero are the only people she's had any direct contact with, she's grown out of being the little princess and is ready to take her place at the head of Team Rocket at any time. It's over, it's about time you were left behind, it had to happen eventually."

"Ashy wouldn't do that," Jonathan insisted.

"It would be better if she did, at least then it would be easier than to watch her fade away and become someone else..." The shadowy creature laughed. "It's sad, really..."

"I've had enough of you, Foxtrot, go!" The Flareon materialized outside of his pokeball and from the shadowy copy, another identical creature appeared, mimicking the form of the original. "So you copied me and now you're copying my pokemon. It doesn't matter, I'll show you the power of the original, fire blitz!"

The two Flareons, one real and one made of shadows dashed towards each other, their breath of fire flooding the chamber with light and dark light. The shadows reflected on the walls wavered strangely, like paper in the wind, still defying how shadows should normally function. The strange dark light tried to consume the flame, but the real fire shone too brightly and the false Flareon had to jump back. Foxtrot didn't relent, determined to finish the battle quickly. There was something in the atmosphere that gave him a sense of unease and he refused to be caught off guard. When Foxtrot attacked with overheat, the fake copied the move, the cave chamber once again filled with dark and light fire. It looked as if the real fire was victorious again, but the false Flareon remained unscratched. Foxtrot charged in and tackled the fake, he attacked with giga impact and was sure it was successful, but the fake remained the same, unharmed and unfazed. 

'Something's not right...' Jonathan thought. He looked around and realized the shadows had grown larger reflected on the walls. A dark substance that move like water but had the consistency of fog mover from the walls to the ceiling and floor, threatening to swallow the whole area. Foxtrot didn't quite understand what was going on, but he quickly returned to his trainer's side. Jonathan watched him back down from the fight, it was as if Foxtrot had read his mind and moved before he could speak a warning. This had to be some sort of trap, the attacks were not having any effect and the shadows were growing. "Show yourself, show your true form!" Nothing happened, but the shadows continued to move unnaturally. 

Jonathan recalled Foxtrot and tried sending out a different pokemon. Upon releasing Jolteon into the battle field, the shadowy Flareon took on her appearance and countered her thunderbolt with a dark light version of the same attack. The same thing occurred with Vaporeon. Jonathan recalled all his pokemon and tried to figure out the situation. When it looked like he was overpowering the shadow, it turned out to be all the opposite. "I guess there's only one thing left to do..." He approached the shadowy copy and walked past him.

"Wait!" The shadow began to walk along with the real one. "What are you doing?"

"I'm ignoring you, you're just an illusion after all, so there's no need to waste my time fighting you," Jonathan decided. "I'm going to look for the source."

"The source is yourself..." The shadow voiced.

"Myself..." Jonathan thought for a moment, then grinned victoriously. "Then this should be easy, thanks for the clue..." He focused and the shadows on the walls began to shrink and retreat, until the fake was gone as well. 

The world turned into a blur and Jonathan found himself getting up off the ground. "You overcame it, that was faster than I thought." A glowing sword floated before him, a crystal Honedge.

"Who are you?" Jonathan got to his feet, staring at the rare pokemon in puzzlement. Something about him made him feel at ease.

"An ally," Honedge confirmed. "That illusion was created by a psychic, he's not too far from here. You were able to break free, which means you must have understood it."

"Yeah..." Jonathan nodded a bit uneasy. "I haven't been sitting around these past few years, I've trained hard and that includes a few courses on how to resist psychic attacks. I have no special powers of my own, so there's only so much I can do, but I can still fight. all I had to do was face my worries and remember that even if everything changes and nothing seems right in the future, I'd still do the same thing here and now..."

"But that's not really what you believe, you have hope for the future and surely it's not baseless," Honedge asserted.

"You're right..." Jonathan looked into the darkness of the tunnel ahead. 'I'm being silly thinking Ashy would change into a whole different person. Although, it still bothers me that I get so bored when she's not around, I suppose I'm just too used to being around her, yeah, that's it...' Focusing back on the present, he looked at the floating blade. "Can you tell where the psychic is? Is it Sabrina?"

"Up ahead, turn right, then left, then go down the middle, I see the source of the psychic energy there, a man covered in shadows," Honedge replied.

"Not Sabrina... could it be Tornado?" He had been spotted a few times but always slipped away, then eventually disappeared. Jonathan hurried ahead, determined to face the mysterious Tornado. 

Following Honedge's directions, they arrived at another cave chamber inside the large mountain, a deep way in. They found the man covered in shadows, his expression empty and lost. "He is the one who attacked you. I wish I could help more, but I can only offer a thin layer of protection, as most of my energy has already been exhausted," Honedge explained.

"Don't worry, I can do the rest!" Jonathan called out his three eeveelutions and Fearow. Identical copies of them appeared made of shadows. Yet it felt different this time, it wasn't an illusion in a dream, this time, he would truly be facing Tornado's power. There were no growing shadows on the walls, but Tornado's power was instead drained with every attack the copies made, as they simultaneously fought.

The two Fearows circled each other in the air, the real one attacked with drill peck, the fake responding in the same way. Their beaks moved as swords colliding with each other. The real Fearow flapped her wings to gain the upper altitude then went down on her opponent with a flying attack. Seeing as copying the moves wasn't working, the shadowy Fearow tried to gain the advantage with u-turn. The attack was successful, but the real Fearow was far from defeated. She recovered quickly and dodged the incoming pluck attack with aerial ace, flying quickly to land another hit on the enemy.

The cave chamber was filled with fire from the lava plume attacks the two Flareon exchanged. Foxtrot moved forward, switching to fire blitz and pushing his opponent back against the wall. The shadowy Flareon sunk into the wall and emerged up from the floor behind him. The rock smash hit Foxtrot before he could turn around and the fake tried to finish him off with strength. Foxtrot recovered just in time to respond with fire fang. The shadow seemed to flicker to get free from the bite, but as soon as it became solid again to attack, Foxtrot was ready and swiftly attacked with giga impact, smashing the shadow against the cave floor.

Sparks flew across the arena, as Jolteon fought her shadowy twin. They both dashed into each other with wild charge, colliding in a bright light. Static collected in Jolteon's fur, while her shadowy counterpart remained the same. She hissed and attacked with rock smash, the shadow sinking into the floor to avoid the hit. Jolteon discharged a series of thunderbolt attacks all around, tricking the shadow into reappearing in one of the spots between her attacks. She reacted quickly with a charge beam, which took her opponent by surprise enough to make room for another rock smash, which that time hit the target full force.

Snow mixed with the static in the air and the flames all around creating a heavy steam all over the cave chamber as the two Vaporeon released their blizzard attacks. The fake tried to attack with hydro pump, which was frozen by the real Vaporeon's ice beam, the solid ice batted away with his tail, the pieces assaulting the shadow like knives. The enemy melted into a black watery substance then separated into two identical Vaporeon shaped shadows. The two attempted to tackle the real Vaporeon from both sides, but he dug into the ground to escape them. Vaporeon emerged a few feet away, releasing a shadow ball the second he jumped out of the tunnel. It hit one of the shadows, making it evaporate into nothingness, while the other retaliated with last resort. 

The attack hit Vaporeon hard and tossed him back several feet. He got back on his feet as quickly as possible and dodged out of the way of the incoming shadow, who tried to reach him with strength. The shadow ran into a stray flame left from Foxtrot's battle, giving Vaporeon an idea. With a warning to his sister, he pushed the shadowy water type further back with an ice beam and Jolteon attacked with thunder. Leaving him to her, Vaporeon shot a hydro pump at the false Flareon and Foxtrot covered Jolteon's back with a powerful fire blast to the fake electric type.

Among the chaos the tree eeveelutions were creating by mixing up their battles, a shadowy Fearow fell, thrown out of the air by the force of the real Fearow's sky attack. Wind, fire, water and lightning flooded the battle field with the shadows sinking into the ground in retreat and not daring to appear in the same way anymore. A Gengar appeared next to tornado, as if she had been watching the whole battle go by, while keeping herself invisible. The shadows emerged from the ground again, but they were piled together into a shapeless form that wrapped around the ghost and took on the form of mega Gengar. "This ends now..." Her voice echoed, she was the same Ghastly who had accompanied Janebelle before.

"Together they will be powerful opponents," Honedge warned. He was glowing and shaking in mid air with the effort of trying to keep Tornado's psychic influence away. Jonathan and the pokemon could still feel a sort of pressure that made it hard to breathe and heard voices that rung out in their heads, trying to confuse them, but they knew it would have been a lot a worse without Honedge's protection.

"You're right about one thing... This will end!" Jonathan aimed his sword at the monstrous ghost, which was a lot bigger than a regular mega Gengar should be. "Nya, are you ready?" The purple feline emerged from her pokeball and perched on Jonathan's shoulder, meowing eagerly. She might have been trying to sound menacing, but in the end she only sounded cute.

Mega Gengar released a series of shadow balls in rapid succession. Fearow flew around them, her agility being pushed to the limit. The eeveelutions spread around the spacious cave chamber, dodging the attacks as well as the falling rocks. The mountain shook, as if vibrating in response to the ghost's dark pulse, which flooded the area and amplified the effects of Tornado's power. "I can't hold it any longer!" Honedge warned.

Jonathan's sword broke as it collided against another shadow, the blade being unable to take more of the colossal power it was being exposed to. The shadows surrounded him and tried to consume them in their darkness, but the pile of shadows found that it was on top of the empty ground and their target was several feet away. Nya tried to support herm allies with her psychic abilities, she knew little in the way of attacks, but had various abilities that could b used to assist, such as heal pulse. It wouldn't be enough though, Fearow, Foxtrot, Jolteon and Vaporeon were being overpowered. The dark pulse flooding the area made it hard and painful to even move, while the shadow balls didn't cease. 

A shattering sound echoed and suddenly, the pain duplicated, causing Jonathan and his pokemon to collapse. He lifted himself up with difficulty and saw Honedge on the ground, the crystal pokemon's energy had been completely drained and they were now at Tornado's mercy. The world around him spun out of control, many frantic voices echoed in his head and it felt as if the very oxygen he tried to breathe was made of fire. "Honedge, lend me your blade... Nya, let's do this one more time, as fast as you can." 

Jonathan picked up Honedge and faced mega Gengar. Nya tried to shield them with her psychic abilities, calm mind to try to focus and light screen to lessen the pain. She then teleported a short distance at a time, it was all she could do in the current conditions. Jonathan dashed forward between teleportations slashing at any shadows in his path, disappearing before the enemy could retaliate. He appeared right in front of mega Gengar and slashed at him with Honedge, Nya focusing her abilities on strengthening and protecting the blade. Mega gengar was cut as if it were a curtain covering the true pokemon inside, wispy black smoke came from within, "now!" 

Four hyper beams entered the opening making the giant pokemon explode. Dark energy became smoke and few in every direction as the facade of mega Gengar melted to reveal Ghastly, in her true form without the forced evolution of Tornado's power. Tornado fell down on his knees, breathing heavily. The pain subsided and Jonathan looked at his exhausted pokemon. They give it all they had to make those powerful hyper beams and Nya was too tired herself to be able to heal them, she had given everything to empower Honedge and had nothing left. "Well done everyone, return." Having recalled, Nya, Fearow, Foxtrot, Jolteon and Vaporeon, Jonathan glared at Tornado, who remained silent.

Ghastly weakly floated towards him, "do you think this one is your greatest concern aside from Legend? He was weak in the end, so Legend left me in charge. This man is not my master, his power is mine to command!" Ghastly suddenly glowed brightly, pulsating with a force that threw Jonathan back several feet. Tornado let out an earsplitting wail as all his energy left him. He fell motionless to the floor, dead, while Ghastly once again took on the form of Gengar. She had been feeding off Tornado's energy the whole time and used the last of his strength to recover.

"Give me your aura, I will use it to strengthen my blade for the final blow!" Honedge urged.

"I don't have any aura powers," Jonathan replied, dodging the rays of dark light that Gengar shot at him.

"All living creatures have aura, even if they cannot control it. Do not resist and I will be able to project your aura on my blade," Honedge explain.

"Alright, do all you can, take my energy," Jonathan moved in for the attack, purple and black ghostly energy came at him, making approaching the target very difficult. He narrowly dodged, the rock formation next to him, in front of which he stood a second ago ignited into black flames and melted into ashes in seconds. He was feeling the exhaustion of the battle, plus Honedge was using his energy now too. He pushed the fatigue to the back of his mind and rushed forward, narrowly evading the attacks until he was so close he could only block. 

The crystal blade shone brightly, empowered with his energy and it collided against a shield of shadowy power. Honedge vibrated with power as stones fell from the cave ceiling and Jonathan's boots dug into the ground by the force at which he was being pushed back. With one last burst of power, Gengar released all her accumulated energy, the shadowy power passing left and right of Honedge, cut apart by his blade, striking Jonathan like a thousand needles. He refused to give up and Honedge glowed brightly, cutting through the shadow power and into Gengar, who became Haunter and finally Ghastly again. The crystal blade cut all the way through in a fatal wound that could send even a ghost to its grave. Ghastly was no more, dissolving into wisps of shadowy energy and disappearing at last.

Jonathan fell to a sitting position, then fell back as the dizziness rushed to his head, exhausted, but victorious. "We won..." he breathe heavily.

"Ghastly was no longer of her own mind..." Honedge, his crystal blade now lacking light, spoke solemnly as he lay motionless on the ground, the handle of the sword still in Jonathan's hand. "She was corrupted into a tool of Legend and that man... He was had been truly dead for a long time now, a vessel that only carried power and not a soul. Restoring them would have been impossible. We cannot allow this to continue. I can feel Ash pouring life into Mew and the Tree of Beginning, if don't hurry his fate will be the same as Sir Aaron..." Honedge's voice turned quieter as he spoke, until he said no more. Jonathan made no sound or motion to reply, his fingers loosening their grip on the sword handle until his hand went limp.

xoxox xox xoxox

Dorme and Volt made their way through the cave as quickly as they could. They were filled with a strange mix of concern and anticipation for the coming battle, but most of all, they were looking forward to seeing their friend again. Volt found himself wondering about things he should not be wondering about at the moment, but figure he might as well get it out. 'Johnny said he didn't mind...' he reminded, recalling with the ease that the other boy had stated the fact. 

"Of course I don't mind if you ask her out, I think you should!" A small protest with a reminder and all that Volt got in response was a laugh and a carefree reply. "Yeah, we did date, but it didn't last long and now I'm surprised either of us even thought it would. I think she said something about liking her idea of me more than me and I guess I liked being liked. In the end Dorme and I had to laugh at ourselves for it, but as you know, we're still good friends." Volt could almost feel the pat on the back and see the same encouraging grin on his friend's face. "She's not going to wait if you tell her an auction for a collectible just came up, she doesn't collect anything so she wouldn't understand. She expects a lot of attention, and can get annoying when she's in hair care mode, but then you must be used to that by now. If you can survive that, her shopping trips, and make sure not to... what did she call it... 'geek-out' about comics more than once a week, you'll be fine. Don't try to correct her when she talks about sparkly vampires and weird stuff like that, she can't stand not having her mythology her own nonsensical way. Just don't rush it, you'll know when the time is right to ask her."

"Volt!" Dorme called out again, this time getting a reaction at least. "Quit spacing out!" She snapped.

"Do you want to go out with me?" Volt blurted out all of a sudden.

Dorme stopped running, she looked at if she wanted to appear scolding, but couldn't stop smiling. "Idiot... "

"Is that a no?" Volt frowned. This was not the time and he knew it, but he couldn't take it back now.

"Actually, I was going to ask you out when we were in Kalos," Dorme revealed. "I had a romantic evening planned out and everything, though given the situation we're in, they'll probably send someone else to check on Kalos, which is fine by me, I don't want to leave Kanto just when Ashimi and Zero are returning. It's just too bad I'll lose my dinner reservations..." She went on about the restaurant she wanted to dine at and about how difficult it was to get reservations, especially on such short notice, noting that it would have been impossible if not for her Rocket connections. 

Volt half listened to the speech about the restaurant as the realization hit him, Jonathan knew about this. That's what he meant by not rushing and waiting for the right time. He didn't say it because Dorme needed further convincing before she would consider the possibility, he said it because he knew of her intentions and tried to help preserve the occasion without revealing it. "Dorme..." Volt snapped back into reality, all too aware of their situation now that he got the question off his chest. "Maybe we should talk about this later. I mean I know I was the one who brought it up, and I'm happy you agreed, but..."

"But we need to go help Ashimi beat up Legend first?" Dorme supplied with a grin.

"Right!" Volt smiled back and they were on their way.

Dorme turned a corner into another tunnel, she wasn't sure where she was going, but she wouldn't get anywhere if she didn't move. She made it into a large cave chamber with clear signs of a recent battle and screamed. Volt appeared in a split second next to her, following her trembling finger to where she pointed at Jonathan's still form. "No! Is he dead?"

"Not unless your screaming can wake the dead, " Jonathan groaned as he sat up. 

Dorme pouted, but couldn't help it but to smile in relief, "very funny."

"Looks like you had a rough time," Volt observed.

"Not as bad as Tornado," Jonathan glanced at where the dead body still lay. He stood up and picked up Honedge, "you okay?"

The crystal blade pokemon began to float, "I will recover," he assured. Volt and Dorme switched between staring at Jonathan, Tornado and Honedge with questions in their eyes. "I'll explain, but I'll have to make it quick..."

xoxox xox xoxox

The shadowy spear narrowly missed its target as Stella moved with amazing speed and gripped Arrow's throat. "Wake up, or I'll kill you!" She shouted at him with uncharacteristic anger. She was usually quite good at keeping her cool, but people who gave into mind control annoyed her. She was the daughter of an urban legend after all, yet she did not give into the need to murder needlessly and rejected her father's instinct. She was herself and anyone not strong enough to guard their own identity deserved a good beating. She heard Daala yelling, but paid no attention. 

The helmet of black energy dissolved into smoke from Arrow's head to reveal his pained expression. "I'm trying..." he gasped. He was tossed aside by the mysterious woman whom he knew now couldn't possibly be an ordinary human. 

"I feel it stronger than ever, the need to kill, the need to consume something delicious and forbidden." The white haired woman looked at him as if he were food. Her eyes were wild and hungry with the temptation of human meat. "Yet I will not give up... How long have you been here? How long did it take for Legend to use your own insecurities to break your mind? That won't happen to me... It won't..." Though she insisted on that, her look was increasingly wild.

"Stella!" A familiar voice called. Electro arrived at the scene, his blue Pikachu on his shoulder.

Stella breathe heavily, then relaxed. "I won't give up... Because the life I live now is precious..."

The armor that surrounded Arrow faded into smoke as he finally broke free from Legend's control. "I won't give up either... whatever was, whatever will be... I won't give up." If nothing else, he could at least count on Daala to be there for him as she had been for the past two years, and that was enough.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi made it to the center of the mountain with relative ease. She knew her father was at the core several feet above. As for Legend, it awaited below, underground at the base of the mountain. It was allowing her to approach, no doubt feeling confident in its victory. Ashimi hurried to the battle, knowing that her friends were facing their own battles as well. She arrived in a deep underground chamber that lit dimly up with many crystals on the walls. A cloaked figure stood across it, a doll was a few feet away with an injured and weakened Gengar holding it protectively though he could barely stand. Ashimi could feel an invisible shield around them, she wouldn't be able to get near them. The doll held the vital energy of Sabrina, but she felt weak, drained of all her power. The vessel that was once hers was now under Legend's control along with most of her power.

"You do realize you're facing me on my own terms." Legend spoke and though the voice came from Sabrina's mouth, it wasn't really hers. It was a warped echo that couldn't really be called the voice of a human. "Not that I'm expecting you to give up." The chamber soon became flooded with brainwashed pokemon that made their way in through tunnels that opened and closed behind them.

The guardians of the tree where notably absent and Ashimi felt reassurance in knowing that there were some with a spirit so strong that Legend couldn't control them, though they were still unable to defeat it. Ashimi released all her pokemon at once, flooding the cavern with bright lights before it returned to its dim illumination. Her loyal Raichu, Lightning, jumped off her shoulder and joined the others. It was something that had happened when they returned, Lightning had trained hard and grown so strong in spirit that when he returned to his body, he evolved even without a thunder stone.

Wartortle had reached his final evolution as well and emerged from his pokeball as Blastoise. The others had increased their power too and would have evolved if they weren't already in their final forms, though somehow there was still a change in them, they looked undeniably stronger, especially Chari, whose tail flame was bigger and brighter than that of most Charizards. This was what they had been training for, and they didn't hesitate to begin the battle.

A multitude of Dugtrio emerged from the ground, shaking up the entire chamber. Blastoise resolved to cover the surface in ice with his ice beam. This significantly hindered the Dugtrio's attacks, as they weren't as effective trying to reach their opponents from the walls and ceiling. Blastoise kept the floor frozen, creating a constantly regenerating wall at their feet. If the ice cracked, it was smoothed out so quickly that the effects of the earthquake were inconsequential.

Chari coated the ceiling and walls with fire, keeping the flames going to rid them of the remaining Dugtrio threat. The small pokemon might not be too strong on their own, but when many got together like that, they were dangerous. The ice on the ground was no problem for the rest of Ashimi's team, they were used to making their way through more difficult terrain. The ice beam was strong enough to keep the ground frozen despite the burning walls and ceiling and the pokemon slid by, using the terrain to their speedy advantage. Taking control of the battle by creating a unique arena was part of the training Ashimi and her team had gone through.

Crobat filled the area with super sonic waves as more pokemon poured into the chamber. A dozen Arboks surrounded the group, their movements somewhat sluggish due to their lack of coordination because of Crobat's super sonic waves and the difficulties of the terrain. The Arboks began to attack with acid spray in every direction, but Ashimi's pokemon dodged the deadly liquid. Most of the Dugtrio had been knocked out by this point because of the fire and ice. Clefable's eyes glowed as she focused her telekinesis and lifted the Arboks in the air. They struggled against her mental grip, but a thunder attack from Lightning made them stay still enough for Clefable to cause their long bodies to be entangled in a mass of living knots. She flung them against a wall in an area where there were still flames left. They collided heavily and fell to the ground.

The cave swallowed up some more of the flames as it made way for another tunnel to open and close after depositing more combatants into the battle field. A group of five Parasect rushed in, but stopped abruptly when a breeze and blur went past them. They felt the shifting of air again, as it moved to give way to something that was moving very fast. The blur was accompanied by an odd sort of mixture of pain and relief as the parasitic plant that overtook them was cut off. They attempted to attack with poison powder, only to realize the mushrooms they intended to use for that purpose have been discarded. A smug looking Persian appeared in front of them, seemingly out of nowhere and the identity of the blur they had witnessed became clear. Furball swiftly swung his tail at them, with only one being miraculously fast enough to jump allowing it to pass under, though that was the one at the far end of the row. Before the Paras even hit the ground again, an electrical current from Lightning's thunderbolt made its way to the target and they were all knocked out.

The ground shook again as the stone walls, floor and ceiling swallowed up the fire and ice in them, in an attempt by Legend to get rid of the arena's obstacles. A group of varied pokemon entered the chamber next: Poliwrath and its younger evolutions as well as Muk and Grimer. The water types tried to flood the cave chamber with the Muk and Grimer polluting the water. Lightning and Furball were quick to release a powerful double electric attack all over the area while Blastoise hovered using his water canons as a sort of jet pack and Clefable floated with her psychic levitation. All the pokemon touching the ground were severely electrocuted and the plan to flood and poison the area was stopped. Chari gave the finishing touches by evaporating the remaining excess water, leaving only a few small puddles.

The cave chamber itself began to shrink, though Clefable interfered, willing it to remain large and wide with her own telekinesis. Blastoise followed up by creating strong pillars of ice to hold the walls apart. Crobat speedily zoomed by, barely perceptible to the naked eye, and threw a sludge bomb at Legend. It bounced harmlessly against the psychic shield, but it was still a daring move. A look of annoyance came across the face that was originally Sabrina's as the cloak was discarded. Her clothing were similar to what she would wear in the time when she first met Ash, but devoid of any bright colors, now gray and black, they were torn and dirty, as if the current inhabitant of the vessel simply didn't care. 

Out of annoyance rather than a sense of danger, Legend raised the hand of the vessel it now commanded as if to snatch Crobat out of the air. Then its head snapped to the side where Ashimi now stood next to the Gengar that held the doll. She poured her energy into the doll, stabilizing Sabrina's consciousness within. Legend laughed, "was a distraction really needed to obtain that useless creature? I care not if you take it." The warped voice took on different tonalities as it spoke, as if people of different, ages, genders and regions, were each speaking a group of syllables from near and far in various volumes and tones.

Chari landed near Ashimi and picked up the Gengar who wouldn't let go of the doll. He was too weak to try to summon any of his ghostly abilities and could focus only on protecting his trainer. The Charizard quickly flew to the other end of the large chamber while Ashimi replied. "Then you won't mind if Sabrina watches from over there until I return her body to her."

Legend only laughed, "let us continue."

"No, not like this," Ashimi glared. "I know this mountain holds many pokemon prisoner, not only from the Kanto region but also many others. You're just getting started, but as you can see, this won't work. If you think you can tire us out, you are very wrong. Stop this and cut to the chase, if you won't fight for real, I will!" With great intensity, she formed a ball of blue energy in her hands and threw it at Legend who swiftly dodged out of the way, teleporting. Without missing a beat, Ashimi ducked out of the way of a punch that came from behind and spun, her hands shining with the aura, ready to shoot it at her opponent, yet she found nothing but empty air.

The brainwashed pokemon stopped pouring into the chamber, instead Ashimi could sense them being sent out where they found Team Rocket right outside the force field that surrounded the Tree of Beginnings. She focused on her own portion of the fight, trusting the others to take care of the mind controlled multitude that came from Legend's base. Lugia appeared, though Ashimi knew it was not real, only a manifestation of Legend's power. The pokemon let out a roar and began to freeze the cave chamber. Sword-like spikes of ice emerged from the walls and shot through the air. Crobat evaded them, Chari dodged some and melted other, while the other pokemon similarly found ways to keep themselves from being impaled. 

Ashimi saw Legend standing upside down on the roof and began to run in that direction, she jumped and instantly Chari flew by, catching her in mid air and heading towards Legend, her breath aflame. Legend teleported again but was hit by an orb of aura that Ashimi shot before her opponent reappeared. With enough focus she could predict the location of the teleportation. She jumped off Chari, letting her join the others in the battle against the false Lugia, while she went in Legend's pursuit. Though all of Ashimi's pokemon were fighting together, their attacks never hit each other and often complimented each other, they were very attuned to each other after all their training.

The ice melted from the cave chamber to be replace by lava. Clefable held Lightning, Furball and Blastoise in the air along with herself and Gengar, while Chari and Crobat flew. electricity and a poisonous mist was shot from Lugia's mouth in powerful beams that were aimed at Clefable. Blastoise intercepted them with hydro pump, the electricity following the pillar of water and the poisonous mist diminishing. Clefable, despite her already present effort, dispelled the rest of the poisonous atmosphere with her healing and support abilities. Chari let out a series of fire blasts straight at Lugia, who was protected by an invisible shield, the spherical shape of which could be seen when energy collided with it.

Furball suddenly landed on Chari's back then fearlessly leapt towards Lugia, claws out. The false legendary opened its mouth as if to bite or even swallow the Persian, but was hit by a hyper beam from the feline, the force of which threw Furball back, landing on Chari's back again. Before Lugia could recover and put its shield in place again, Crobat zoomed towards it like a bullet and hit the target hard with fly, then released a series of shadow balls straight at Lugia. Lugia roared as spears of ice followed, stabbing it with their sharp points thanks to Blastoise alternating between hydro pump and ice beam. 

The fire that flooded the chamber faded and Lugia was unable to remain in the air and landed heavily. Lightning dashed in with Volt tackle, knocking the false legendary back. Together, all the pokemon combined their power in hyper beams to finish the illusion of a legendary. Rayquaza suddenly appeared, materializing out of thin air as Lugia melted into black smoke. It spun and spiraled, it's body untouchable with the electrical currents that surrounded it, steam came from the false legendary indicating it's unusually hot temperature.

Legend landed on Rayquaza's back, running up the length of its body to its head. Ashimi shot another blast of aura energy but knew she couldn't be able to hit it from that angle. She jumped onto Rayquaza's body, fighting to keep her balance and coat her body, especially her feet, with the aura so as to not be affected by the heat coming from the illusion of a legendary. She hurried towards legend while Rayquaza shot beams of energy that seemed to change in element every time, water, fire, electricity, darkness and everything in between. Poisonous petals danced around the chamber, coming from everywhere and nowhere. 

Legend attacked Ashimi with the psychic power stolen from Sabrina and she had to focus on blocking her influence, making her own aura flow as it should, preventing Sabrina from forcing it to move differently. Chari broke free from the battle and snatched up Ashimi, tossing her onto her back. She wouldn't need to dodge then since Chari would do it. That was the way the Charizard was, a sort of big sister to the other pokemon, always watching out for them and especially for her trainer. Legend tried to knock Chari off balance, but Ashimi shielded them both, they moved as one, their fire and aura orbs complimenting each other perfectly.

Chari dove in the air, her flames encasing Legend, who momentarily had to focus on defense. Rayquaza switched the attack on the other pokemon towards Chari as she passed. The split second was costly as a powerful Hydro pump hit Rayquaza in the face. Crobat was once again blasting Legend with shadow balls and sending super sonic waves to diminish the affectivity of the psychic energy concentration around it. Than Lightning fell from above with an unusual vertical volt tackle that knocked Legend off Rayquaza's head. The Raichu had hopped on Chari as she passed and jumped off when she was high enough. An iron tail to the head from Furball and it looked like Sabrina's body had been knocked out. An explosion rung out with Clefable's metronome, followed by several hyper beams from all the pokemon and Rayquaza was gone, melted in smoke.

There was a moment of silence in which only heavy breaths were heard. Ashimi and her pokemon could go for hours, though the atmosphere in the chamber was so heavy that it made it harder, none the less, they were still feeling very strong. Legend lifted Sabrina's form off the ground with an impatient expression. Ashimi frowned, "why don't you stop the act? You might have needed a vessel in the past, but now you don't, you have enough power to exist without one. Besides, if you truly wanted to destroy Sabrina for capturing you, you would have done it already. That body is only a hindrance to you." As if to prove the point, Lightning sent out very precise electric pulsations that invaded the vessel's nervous system and caused every indication of pain to flare up, well beyond the real extent of the injuries.

Legend cringed then laughed, "I suppose that's true." A dark shadowy mist emerged from Sabrina and form an orb of surprisingly bright light, though it was dimmed as it continued to come out, surrounded in darkness. It's aura, it's living energy, felt evil, yet not pure evil, Ashimi realized now that her senses were much more precise and harder to overwhelm. The other part that wasn't evil, wasn't good either, it was more so neutral, that was the only word she could assign to it. She thought of the energy as aura because it was indeed living energy, but it was strange, it didn't have any links to a personality. She had thought that after Legend manifested as a separate being, it would develop a personality of its own. She had been the magnet that attracted the evil energy, thus Legend turned out like this, but at its core it was neutral. It could have gone the other way, albeit if it drained the good energy from Team Rocket, then she didn't want to think about how the organization would become. It couldn't drain all the evil from it of course, the members would still be people who were not pure good or evil.

Then she realized it, Legend was not a being alone but a manifestation of many beings. It copied traits from all the members of Team Rocket, the strongest traits resurfacing, though the more powerful it became, the more energy was mixed in, the less unified those traits became, except for one thing, the need to plot and destroy. Legend was a time bomb, she realized, it would take as much as it could, then, when there was little left to take, it would explode, that's what it intended to do now, to explode in a massive wave of destruction. The core of it all puzzled her. 

She knew of Legend's development, but if it had been only evil energy being attracted to her, she would have absorbed it, but she didn't. In the end, Ashimi grew out of her stage of a pure child and became a person with faults and virtues, who got angry, jealous or bitter as often as any normal human being, even when the good traits won out. Why during all that time had she been the magnet but not the core? What prevented the energy that once inhabited her vessel from merging with her own? It all spun around that core, that was Legend and she had to know what it was to defeated it. 

Deoxys appear in attack mode, but its figure was warped and could hardly retain the Legendary's appearance. Sparks flew as Lightning and Furball combined their electrical abilities. Clefable played a defensive role for the time being while Sabrina reclaimed her human form. Blastoise' hydro pumps and Crobat's shadow balls blasted into the ceiling as Deoxys quickly moved. Chari was with Ashimi, trying to get closer to the dark orb that threw shockwaves at them that could not be seen but were sharp like knives. Ashimi had to sense them, guiding Chari to dodge by communicating directly with her aura, there was simply no time for words. 

Deoxys' image wavered as if it wasn't even there, Lightning and Furball changed to a different strategy, letting a soft flow of electricity escape them, the energy moving as it pleased and revealing the true location of the energy that Legend had released to project the image of Deoxys. With Sabrina's aura having successfully transferred from the doll back to her body, Clefable joined the others, save Chari who was currently busy with Ashimi, in dispelling the energy with another team hyper beam. Deoxys disappeared, though the black smoke was several feet away, where the hyper beams had hit.

Furball scaled the rocky walls of the cave, then jumped towards the dark orb, releasing a powerful thunderbolt. Clefable gave Lightning a boost for another vertical volt tackle, though like Furball's energy, Lightning when right through, crashing into the ground below. The Raichu jumped out of the crater he created and looked up, wondering how that was even possible. It looked like Legend was making an effort to keep a distance from Chari, but why if their attacks weren't working. Blastoise's hydro pump further confirmed the usual situation, going through the orb and colliding with the cave ceiling. Crobat charged in with aerial ace but also went right through the target. They realized than that it wasn't Chari's fire blasts that Legend was paying attention to, it was Ashimi.

"Legend, you're not even pretending to have a physical form now," Ashimi realized.

"I don't need it, why waste energy emulating it?" Legend replied, "come, consume all your energy uselessly." Black smoke flooded the cave, Legend's strategy was to drain their power. Any pokemon that was not so well trained would have been brainwashed, but they were strong, yet putting all that energy into defense, into keeping their free will, would eventually take its toll. 

"You say come, but you're trying so hard to keep me away," Ashimi glared. Chari finally landed next to the other pokemon and Ashimi jumped off her back. 'You don't want me to know what you are,' she thought. If that was the case, then she had to know, she had to resolve the inconsistencies. She knew for sure Legend had to have a core, hence why it didn't fuse with her in the past, or with Sabrina later on after the psychic was no longer able to hold it prisoner, she couldn't stop the energy from flowing towards Legend, only slow it. Ashimi needed answers, anything else would be a waste of effort if they had no real direction. She sat on the ground and closed her eyes in concentration.

Legend's shadowy energy moved as if in uneasiness and it attacked, but it found itself colliding with a shield that encompassed Ashimi and the pokemon, as well as Gengar and Sabrina, who could only watch at that point. The psychic had recovered her powers, but she would need a lot of rest before she could use them again. For a second Sabrina wondered how Ashimi could focus on finding her answer and protect everyone at once, then she realized there was actually very little thought flowing from her to the shield. The psychic couldn't do much with her powers except sense, so she did. 

Sabrina realized then that the missing seal upon Ashimi's aura was indeed still missing, but she fashioned a sort of artificial one with her own aura, surely that was no easy task to master. She could allow other auras to flow into her, though those auras had their own core, her pokemon. Their will influenced her aura and she allowed it with full trust in them, receiving their energy and allowing them to focus her power for her while her mind was concentrated in other matters. The artificial seal of energy allowed access only to her pokemon, strongly blocking any other possible influences. They truly were as close to being one as they could be without entirely merging into a single creature. The trust and the bond between them was something beyond all possibilities.

The vision that Ashimi saw was an unexpected one, she could feel her father's aura as if he was nearby, though he was a distance away, above her underground location. The flow of energy was strong and she felt the answer lay with him, though not in his consciousness. Ashe felt his daughter's inquiry and focused on it, while still allowing his energy to flow out into Mew. The Tree of Beginnings wasn't as close to death as when he first began the process now. Ashimi saw her own father as a boy leaving Pallet Town. Her attention was caught by Ho-oh and by the burst of energy that occurred at that point in time. 

The flow of Ash's energy indicated that he had not been aware that such a tremendous amount of energy was released at that very moment. He didn't realize that he had been an inch from death and that his aura, that he didn't even know about at the time, had partially healed him, enough so that his injuries were mere scratches in comparison to what could have been. Ho-oh had flown overhead then, the pokemon becoming caught in the invisible burst of energy that came from the chosen one, his powers suddenly amplified immensely. The legendary bird granted a wish, but it was a wish that was so strong, it could not normally be granted, not even by the power of Ho-oh and Celebi combined, yet with the great power of the chosen one, his aura refusing to perish so soon, the wish was granted, a wish of eternal happiness.

For years Ash was living in a waking dream, until one day, he was reunited with misty and they talked. He still had the same personality, the same thirst for challenges, even if he had matured in many ways, he was still a boy at heart and he was content with that. Yet during Misty's time apart from Ash, the haze of the dream had lifted slightly and she spoke of the future, of growing up and of things that teenagers often dream of doing when they become adults. Such hopes, such dreams, such challenges seemed unappealing at best for a the most part in the past, yet Misty spoke of growing up as an adventure. 

Misty was filled with impatience, it seemed, as if adulthood couldn't come soon enough, yet Ash, had wanted to be a boy forever. He contradicted her, they argued and in the end, as they always did, they reconciled, and traveled together for a while. Then finally he let it go, his aura released the grip it had on Ho-oh and the frozen flow of time picked up again. The haze of the dream lifted and once again, Ash continued to age. Yet no one knew, no one was aware of the fact that a little over a month away from eleven, for ten years, he had been ten years old. He moved on with his life because of the curiosity Misty awoke in him, and yet to him, it seemed normal, like he had grown out of wishing to be an eternal child as soon as anyone else, those years, were forever sheltered in a dream-like haze that no one questioned.

The flow of time is a peculiar thing, the timelines are attracted to each other, seeking to merge. "Destiny is not a prewritten path, destiny is the influence of our other selves trying to reconcile their choices with our own." Master Aaron had once said. The timelines would try to merge, and when the differences between them were sufficiently blurred, they would. The acceptance of those years as normal was a part of it, the lack of awareness of the irregularities in time was ignored because everything else was as it should and in another timeline, those extra ten years didn't exist, so why should they be questioned? The merge blurred them away, yet they existed and only the aura of the chosen one could fuel such a powerful wish, with Ho-oh serving as the medium.

The question still stood, what did all that have to do with Legend? The ten years were extraordinary, but to the current situation, almost inconsequential. Another vision entered Ashimi's mind and she cringed at some parts of it but managed to remained focused enough not to lose the vision. Not everything that Giovanni had done in the past was noble, but there was a certain fire to it, a determination, an ambition, if he had been able to use the aura... Then the answer hit her. Ash's power was used to fuel the wish granted by Ho-oh, he could only project it on occasion in small portions after that because it had been drained. After that, he eventually recovered and was now able to use the power he possessed long ago without knowing it. 

People's auras stirred during those years, some grew, other's diminished, but the changes were not much for people whose lives were not eventful, Giovanni's aura grew greatly. His seal was so tightly closed that he couldn't let it out, yet it was too much, a storm had started that increased the magnitude of the aura he was unable to release, the peculiarity of the timeline putting the weight of so many events into such a supposedly small period of time, though time was perceived normally for him in the moment, amplified the effect and began a chain reaction. It was a concentration of energy that serve to recharge Ash's drained power, to make most people's aura merely spin in circles with little changes, and to make Giovanni's aura more concentrated and volatile. Years later the effect culminated, long after the effects of the wish were gone. Ash was a grown man with a child of his own at that time, yet Giovanni's energy could no longer continue to accumulate and it almost killed him with the pressure. Ashimi didn't know of it, but Ash recalled it as the time when Giovanni retired from taking on both humans and pokemon in the ring, his tremendous power also explained by the aura contained within him. 

The doctors linked the incident, akin to cardiac arrest, yet nothing like it, to high blood pressure, which was believable enough, but not at all the cause. What happened was the seal of his aura being broken with such force, that the burst of energy itself, fused the pieces together, expelling the excess energy and sealing up the aura once again. He recovered after a short coma of less than a day and lived on as if it was nothing. Ash had been in a far away region at the time and though he was aware of the aura enough to get an odd feeling of alarm, he was too far away to understand what it really was, and in the end believed the doctors, after all, the seal had been repaired and felt about the same. Yet Giovanni had no physical ailment, it was something that could not be understood by looking at the body's symptoms, because it was something of the aura. None the less, at Delia's insistence, he slowed his pace in life if only a little.

The process was not as simple as excess energy flowing out after the ten years accelerated it to grow too quickly as the many events and ambitions were crammed into a tiny space in the merging timelines. Something left along with it, a shard of Giovanni's own self, not a shard of his persona, but a portion of one of the concepts that formed it: ambition. Not all of it escaped, he certainly had enough ambition to solidify his hold on the world, yet he was more patient, less rash, able to wait instead of impatiently bringing out the heavy artillery immediately. Archer once said he never thought Giovanni would grow out of that almost boyish stubbornness he possessed to have his way immediately, he didn't, it had left him, yet he was truly strong to continue as if he had lost nothing.

Ashimi opened her eyes with understanding reflected in them. Ash's energy disconnected from their communication link after the vision was over and he returned to continuing his effort with Mew, focusing on that. This thing, this Legend, it called itself that because at its core it was formed from Giovanni's wish to be a legend. It was a concept though, it was not Giovanni and it was not any of the entities it had possessed. It was ambition and if she took away all that evil energy surrounding it, it would be that, neutral and pure. 

She wondered what Team Rocket would be like without Legend to cleanse it in a way. She wondered what it would become without it. She wondered if Giovanni would have been more aggressive in his take over if this hadn't happened, though she knew the answer to that one was probably a yes. He might not approve of her plans, he might decide that having an heir that kept Team Rocket unified and in charge wasn't enough after all. He might disapprove of her ideals and think of her as too weak to make such ridiculous ideas work. Had his approval of her been only because he was missing this shard to further fuel his already intense fire?

Seizing on the sudden rush of questions and concerns that plagued her mind, Legend intensified the attack on Ashimi. She snapped to attention, realizing that the dark orb had been smashing into her shield with strong smoky tentacles. Her pokemon looked tired, Legend was a tremendous force and they were giving all they had to protect her while she searched for the answer. As a being of pure energy, knowing what it was would be vital to influencing it, now Ashimi had the answer, but her shield shattered and a shockwave tossed her pokemon aside as they tried to withstand the effects. The dark smoky tendrils wrapped around Ashimi, Legend's influence trying to make its way into her aura. 

Legend understood, it focused on her doubt, her insecurity, it could force its way past the seal she made of her own energy, that was it's only true weakness. Master Aaron had assured her that regardless of what kind of seal she had, doubt was everyone's weakness, so this condition made her no different, it didn't make her weaker, but as she was invaded by a terrible pain, she found it hard to concentrate. Master Aaron had pushed her to the limit during training, yet his well meaning presence was always such a comfort even in the greatest challenges, now she was surrounded by a force so evil that no training could even emulate it. 

Ashimi struggled to regain her focus, realizing that her pokemon had not broken the link with her and their energy flowed wildly, almost desperately into her as they tried to free her. They would exhaust themselves and be exposed to the danger of the atmosphere around Legend if they kept that up. The wall behind her fell apart, but it was not opening up into a tunnel summoned by Legend's will, it was torn down. Zero, Jonathan, Volt and Dorme rushed in, Zero was the most prepared having witnessed Ashimi's training, but it was clear the atmosphere was not good for any of them. 

Sabrina had been tossed aside with Gengar doing what he could to protect her. They weakly watched the event unfold, unable to move, Ashimi knew she couldn't take much more of this and though her methods were harsh and not something Ashimi agreed with, she didn't hate Sabrina, who had in the end, tried to take responsibility for her actions. Her friends were calling her name, she had to go to battle so quickly, this wasn't the reunion she pictured. She had to protect them, she had to shield them from Legend, she refused to let them be hurt. Her aura flared with great determination, her energy making her friends and pokemon glow as her protection enveloped them. Her pokemon's wish to keep her safe and their deep bond made them take on their mega forms as they gave her their power.

The concept of ambition had driven humans and pokemon alike since the beginning of time. Facing off against it was no easy task, yet it was only that, a concept without a drive of its own. Ashimi felt herself becoming stronger with her own determination, she would reach her goal and nothing would stop her, she would protect those dearest to her and if they were there, she could figure out the rest. 'I know what you are, Legend. You wish to destroy because you cling to the echoes of will that reside in the energy that circles your neutral core. Without that direction, you are nothing, yet you have no will, you are but a concept, unfit to even be referred to as an entity. Release that evil energy, let it fade away and be purified and I will offer you a will, not an echo, but a true will. Come to me shard of ambition and I will be your new master!' 

Ashimi reached out into the endless darkness that was Legend and finally grasped the light in its core. The evil energy broke apart from the cycle around the core and dispersed wildly, flying in every direction. A light of purity shone from above, as Mew's innocent and playful good will was empowered by Ash's aura and amplified to diminish the energy being released from the mountain, lessening its possible negative effects. The cave fell silent and all was stillness. The glow faded with the danger passed and Ashimi felt her senses fade, as the shard of ambition settled into its new home.

To be Concluded

xoxox xox xoxox

Awakening

Epilogue: Ambition

Ashimi's Perspective

That day, when I woke up again I finally got the reunion I wanted. Everyone was there and the room was filled with joy. Dorme fussed a bit about how my hairstyle got messy, though I had no time to consider my hair when I left, I hardly had time to get out of that pretty but impractical kimono and into a much more easy to move in Team Rocket uniform. Everyone told me stories and asked to hear mine and whenever I said something I noticed that Johnny smiled as if reassured of something upon hearing me. I wonder if he thought I would be different, he seems glad I'm not all that different though. There are things I now know, things I understand, but I'm still the same person in the end. I spent time with my friends and family, caught up and rested. 

My little brother, Aaron, loves creepy pasta stories, though I'm not sure mom would be too happy that I'm sharing them with such a young child. I learned a lot of stories from Master Aaron, he would tell them to me as rewards in my training. He didn't call them creepy pasta of course, as the concept was unknown to him until I explained it, but his so called Clefairy tales certainly fit the description. Clefairy tales were oddly dark and tragic in the past.

Mew was left weak, but will recover. Sabrina has gone off somewhere, I'm not sure how she managed to slip away, but she did. I feel that she is alright and she'll probably lay low and recover for some time. I have no intentions of going after her and wish for our next real meeting, because I know someday we'll meet again, to be peaceful. Team Rocket is recovering too in a sense and people are a little more reluctant to ask for help, wondering what they were thinking before. Yet their positive experiences are still there to influence them, even if the cloud of grudges was in part restored, Mew couldn't purify it all. It's okay though, this is more truthful, it makes more sense, it's how it should be and I'm not going to take any shortcuts in making Team Rocket a prosperous kingdom. 

I heard that Lance has become the new leader of the dragon clan. Though he claims it's not like that, that he's only the leader of the council, people are calling him the dragon king. Arrow and Daala were arrested by Team Rocket for a while, but soon after handed over to Lance. He was basically told they were his problem and he would have to respond for their actions, but I don't think they'll cause him any trouble.

Janebelle's memories are not coming back. I examined her aura and found that they were not deeply buried but somehow stolen away along with her psychic powers. Legend probably took that at the same time she was released from the mind control. She has no powers now and no past she can remember, but maybe it's best that way. Jessiebelle was overjoyed to have her back and I think that this time she will be a good mother to her. I sent Butch and Cassidy's son to visit her from time to time. Try as I may I can never truly remember his name, but I'm somehow inclined to always guess, inexplicably sure that I'll get it right next time. Jessiebelle behaved well for the most part, save for the fact that she eventually caused a commotion trying to arrange a wedding for Janebelle and Johnny. Ironically, Janebelle flat out refused to marry a stranger, as she did not remember Johnny, and claimed to be in love with... What is that guy's name?

I've been traveling around, taking it easy, Johnny and Zero are traveling with me again and Honedge decided to come along too, though he pretends he's a regular sword sometimes and lets Johnny carry him so he doesn't attract too much attention. Volt joins us whenever he gets a break from the gym and we run into Dorme pretty often. I might try out the Indigo League again... Dad said it might not be a challenge as things stand now, but that it would be fun. I've been more involved in Team Rocket too, I think grandpa's relieved that people's attitude towards it makes sense now that Legend is gone, even if it means that keeping things under control might be more challenging at times. That'll be my job when I'm eighteen, but there's still some time left to prepare and I know grandpa will likely keep an eye on things after he retires, likely for the rest of his life, I'm kind of grateful for that, actually. We'll see how it goes.

That day... After things calmed down and I had a moment alone with grandpa, I told him about the shard of ambition. It had not melted into my aura yet, so I offered to return it to him. He looked thoughtful, as if picturing what he might be inclined to do if he had it. Then he told me to keep it as a gift. Sabrina contacted me by telepathy, she had been keeping an eye on things it seems, and somehow sensed that I had not returned the ambition shard. Only an exceptional psychic could have such a keen sense for matters of the aura, she's certainly one of the kind. She didn't expect an answer though, and broke the communication link before I could reply. I guess she simply wanted me to ask myself the question.

That shard was a precious treasure from my grandfather, I couldn't destroy it. It wasn't a matter of an easy way out of the battle. This sort of mutually beneficial agreement was my only possible course of action that I wouldn't regret, I think. Ambition in itself is not bad, and let's face it, if I am to fulfill my plans, I'll need plenty. I think Sabrina was warning me, telling me not to change, so I went to talk to Johnny about it. We're always around each other, just like before. I think he finds my presence particularly calming somehow, though I don't really understand why, since I'm not one to dwell in inactivity, but he's always been pleasant to have around. I told him to tell me if I was changing, though I suppose it might not be so obvious if he's around me all the time and subtly changes along with me...

End

xoxox xox xoxox

Notes

Chapter 43: The scene with Jonathan and the copy was inspired by Persona 4 Golden. I've used the multiple timelines that seek to merge theme before in Don't Give Me Diamonds, though it is a minor theme used to describe a "what if" as links to the background of a supporting character who appears in later chapters. I also used it in the background of Loyalty, which is one such alternate timeline. I hope the concept wasn't too confusing, feel free to ask if you need clarification. I also realize I went all Puella Magi with Giovanni and his karmic destiny (though I just called it the flow of aura so as to not complicate things more), as well as with the whole 'concept' thing, just ignore this part of the notes if you're not familiar with Puella Magi.

Chapter 44: As Dorme said, Jonathan will likely not even realize how he feels for a long time and Ashimi is, like her father, perceptive in everything except romance. Dorme's 'prediction' was actually a hint at the when. I'm purposefully leaving the ending open. Ashimi could have achieved her ideals, or she could have turned out similar to Giovanni. All that was established is that Team Rocket does rule in the future, but the specifics of how were left up to interpretation.

**Author's Note:**

> Fantasy Bit: http://mikari.piratesboard.net
> 
> Deviant Art: http://mikaristar.deviantart.com
> 
> Fanart Central: http://fanart-central.net/user/AzureMikari/


End file.
